This book review was originally published on the Small Wars Journal website on 14 April, 2025
The Problem: America was once a nation of stories. Freedom. Justice. The lone cowboy carving his own fate. The immigrant who builds something from nothing. The dream that anyone—anyone—could make it.
Now? We’ve lost the plot.
For all our talk of rugged individualism and self-determination, we Americans no longer know who we are. The melody of our story was lost in the cacophony of narrative warfare.
The American story is no longer told.
And when a nation stops telling its own story, someone else will do it for them.
The U.S. national security apparatus has failed to grasp what our adversaries already know: narrative is not just a tool. It is the mechanism by which humans define identity, differentiate the self from others, and make sense of the world.
America’s failure in this space is more than just an intellectual weakness—it’s a forfeiture of power, influence, and legitimacy. While we bicker over politics and seek comfort over moral courage, Russia, China, and other asymmetric adversaries are filling in the blanks
You, the individual, have agency.
The individual must recognize their role not just as a consumer of narratives, but as a participant in them. To counter polarization, and manipulation, you must embody the identity you want for America—not through slogans, but through action.
Seek conversations across ideological lines. Narrative control is most effective when people retreat into isolated, self-reinforcing tribes. Challenge this by building bridges, even in disagreement. Express compassion, give back to those in need, support one another, develop your own strength, and operate in humility. Narrative resilience begins with personal resilience.
America’s future is not written in Washington alone.
It is written in our classrooms, on our job sites, in our neighborhoods, and in the small, daily acts of meaning-making and kindness that shape collective memory.
Because in the war of meaning, it is not just information that matters.
It is the story that endures.