Tony Blankley has a new book out this week, American Grit: What It Will Take to Survive and Win in the 21st Century, offering a prescription of nationalism and strength for American prosperity. I’ve been reading a galley copy of the book, and it’s certainly going to be controversial, and not just with liberals. Conservatives may have some issues with Blankley’s positions as well. His publisher has provided me with a few excerpts from the book:

A CALL FOR NEW AMERICAN NATIONALISM TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY
Patriotism is a love for one’s country; nationalism is a call to action, a commitment to make the difficult decisions on behalf of what will make America strong—both spiritually and materially—even at the expense of what might make us momentarily more comfortable. A nationalist recognizes that each citizen owes the country something….A nationalist program, such as I propose, seeks to restore America’s prosperity, military strength, and sense of patriotism. Above all else, it places the interests of the country first….(6)

BRINGING BACK THE DRAFT COULD ENSURE AMERICAN SURVIVAL
The bottom line is that despite all our technological advantages, troop strength matters… the lack of available ground troops has led some officials and analysts to conclude that if the United States found another unavoidable military conflict, we would have to rely on air power and even, if it was serious enough, nuclear weapons. (p. 28)

National service is a call to renew the self-sacrifice, patriotism, and stoicism that once animated our country, but that today seem too often shelved in favor of a self-centered veneration of personal happiness. [Bringing back the draft] would undoubtedly provoke libertarian outrage from a number of eighteen-year-olds who’ve become estranged from the very idea of a citizen’s obligation to his country. But the question is this: is enlarging America’s military to defend our vital national interests and renew our sense of national unity worth the price of a national service program? I think the answer is undeniably yes. More than that, I believe it’s inevitable, if we are to survive and prosper as a free and independent nation. (p. 39)

CONQUERING AMERICAN DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL WITH NATIONALISM
Our national security is being held hostage by our reliance on foreign oil….We need a new, nationalist energy policy that harnesses both government power and private industry to achieve the crucial national goal of energy independence. The biggest domestic obstacle we face is liberals like President Obama with their petulant opposition to drilling for oil off our shores and in Alaska, with their superstitious fear of nuclear power, and with their emotional, apocalyptic belief in global warming that has created a mania for cutting our carbon emissions—even to the point of bankrupting our entire coal industry. (p. 57)

The trend away from international free trade in energy presents a direct challenge to our well-being and our influence in the world. When so many major energy suppliers are openly hostile to the United States…it is the height of folly for us not to exploit our own reserves of energy. As others have noted, we are likely heading into a world of “resource wars”—a world for which America, right now, is woefully unprepared. (p. 56)

Tony Blankley will join me on Wednesday’s Ed Morrissey Show at 3:30 pm ET to discuss his book and debate the controversial nature of muscular nationalism that he presents. As always, Blankley gives us a rich, dynamic work that will prompt thinkers across the political spectrum, and will make for great interviews. Don’t miss it, and don’t miss out on ordering your copy.