Spirit of Philadelphia

Chris Gibson is the author of two previous books: Rally Point and Securing the State. He earned a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University and a B.A. in History from Siena College. Chris and his wife, Mary Jo, a licensed clinical social worker, have been married for over 28 years, have three adult children, and live in upstate New York.

"Chris Gibson has issued a clarion call to all Americans-- regardless of party or ideology-- to participate in a much-needed reset of our struggling experiment in self-governance. Gibson first grounds his analysis in a thoughtful and expansive consideration of political philosophy and history as they relate to the modern challenges of our constitutional republic. He then leverages his impressive and diverse experiences in public service to arrive at a systematic program of system- and citizen-centered reforms that would enable us to recover the spirit of cooperation and pragmatism that animated the Constitutional Framers. While we can agree or disagree about specific proposals that he offers with this goal in mind, we can all agree that the status quo is unsustainable... and that this vitally important conversation needs to happen. Chris Gibson has provided us with a timely vehicle and a logical framework for such a national conversation." Lewis G. Irwin, Professor of Public Policy and American Government, Duquesne University; and Major General, U.S. Army (retired) “Chris Gibson – former Army Colonel, Iraq combat veteran, recipient of a Purple Heart and four Bronze Stars, Ph.D., three-term congressman, professor, and former college president – is singularly qualified to diagnose our current American malaise and to offer time-honored remedies of compromise, nonpartisanship, and shared sacrifices that date back to our founding and have helped America to heal in the past. A unique diagnosis and course of correction for an ailing America in its fourth century from a rare Renaissance American.” Victor Davis Hanson, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, Stanford University and author of The Dying Citizen

• IntroductionSection I – Philosophy of Knowledge, Ethics, and Political TheoryChapter 1 – Why Balance Is Crucial to Knowledge and VirtueChapter 2 – The Flourishing Life and Thriving SocietyChapter 3 – Thoughts on Political TheorySection II – The Rise and Decline of American Common Sense RealismChapter 4 – Breaking With the PastChapter 5 – The Spirit of PhiladelphiaChapter 6 – Common Sense Realism - “A New Order of the Ages”Chapter 7 – From Flourishing to Flailing - Why Political Philosophy MattersChapter 8 – The Mirage of UtopiaSection III – Recovering Founding Principles & Common Sense RealismChapter 9 – Restoring TrustChapter 10 – Reawakening the Spirit of PhiladelphiaChapter 11 – Notes for Us - “We the People”Conclusion