The Columnist as Moral Compass

A book-length collection of 81 op-eds written over a period of seven years by a single author should not be readable. And in most writers’ hands it wouldn’t be. While Peggy Noonan’s latest book, A Certain Idea of America, fits that description, it is instead a compelling read that brings moral clarity to a tumultuous period of American public life.

The collection could be called A Tale of Two Presidents, as it spans Donald Trump’s tumultuous first term and the majority of Joe Biden’s shaky tenure. Noonan is no fan of either man, although she is not slow to give praise when she thinks it is deserved. The COVID-19 pandemic and response create a common theme—how great (and not-so-great) men respond to crises.

The author and her editor wisely organize the articles by theme and not a mere slog through time, allowing common threads to emerge. The collection begins with essays on varied historical figures. Lincoln and Reagan appear, as expected, but also Bob Dylan, Billy Graham, Ulysses S. Grant, and others. Edith Wharton, the self-described "fabulous old battle axe," takes over the column for a day to bemoan the decline of manners.

Noonan makes arguments most compellingly by example. As in the enduring speech in response to the Challenger explosion, which she wrote for Reagan, Noonan references great men of history and poetry to help make sense of larger issues. The Challenger explosion was not an isolated moment of time, but 390 years after "the great explorer Sir Francis Drake" died at sea. The comparison places what might otherwise be seen as a random tragic event within the context of the epic history of explorers reaching new horizons.

Likewise, in this volume, historical touchpoints shed light on issues of today. Ulysses S. Grant getting arrested by a policeman instructs on the rule of law and decency. An interview with Oscar Hammerstein pleads for political restraint among cultural elites. The death of Queen Elizabeth II allows reflection on faith and tradition. Taken together, these discrete examples give a cumulative case of what Noonan values.

A strong moral voice and clarity on tough issues is often missing in the thousands, maybe tens-of-thousands, of opinion pieces shot back and forth each day in the world of pundits and "thought leaders." The supply of easy opinion is abundant, but not clear moral reasoning. Noonan provides this repeatedly, avoiding schoolmarmy lectures and reasoning from fundamentals. Her tenure of 20-plus years at the Wall Street Journal in addition to her successes as a speechwriter lend weight to these discussions, although even her early writings contain that moral golden thread. I credit that thread in giving her the ability to cut through the noise on a busy opinion page.

The crisis we face, Noonan argues, is a "fundamental confusion" about "who we are" as Americans. The little things—how senators dress or empty office buildings—are all details that matter in a much larger sense. She calls Senator John Fetterman (D., Pa.) a "different kind of phony" and the atmosphere reveals how Americans "insist on preeminence … while increasingly ignoring our responsibilities." Empty office buildings reveal an air of "post-greatness" that threatens an America like that shown in an Edward Hopper painting, "empty streets, tables for one, everyone at the bar drinking alone."

Perhaps there is something quaint about her concern for manners and tradition. Given that concern, paired with the focus on great men of history, you might wonder if the discussions are relevant for our moment. Squeamish conservatives like her have little place in the world of DOGE dogfights and congressional catfights. But Noonan is aware of this picture and "leaning in" Sandberg-style to her voice. Her section titles reveal this self-awareness, beginning with "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" and continuing to "I Don’t Mind Being Stern." She has been accused sometimes of sentimentality and simplicity, which shows how we categorize ethical considerations as unnecessary at best and a hindrance at worst.

Noonan has barbs for all sides. Although she is a prominent critic of Trump, she shares some of his priorities. In one 2016 opinion, she writes, "Since I am more in accord with Mr. Trump’s stands than not, I am particularly sorry that as an individual human being he’s a nut." Her criticisms grow both in the aftermath of Trump’s election in 2016 and his loss and claims of election fraud in 2020. To say that her main objection to Trump is his character would be imprecise. Matters of personal character are intrinsically linked to questions of national character, which shape our priorities.

While her criticisms of Trump have made larger headlines, she saves her harshest words for broader cultural decline that worsens existing crises. In one selection, "The Uvalde Police Scandal," she calls for a "swift and brutal investigation" in response to the inaction by the police force. She extrapolates:

I’m saying we are losing old habits and discipline in habits of expertise—of peerlessness. There was a kind of American gleam. If the world called on us—in business, the arts, the military, diplomacy, science—they knew they were going to get help. The grown-ups had arrived, with their deep competence.

America now feels more like people who took the Expedited Three-Month Training Course and got the security badge and went to work and formed an affinity group to advocate for change.

Across the selected writings, Noonan discusses moral distinctions, moral guardrails, moral gravity, even Burkean moral imagination. Morality is an important category for her. But what prevents her writing from descending into finger-wagging moralism? Her aforementioned self-awareness certainly helps, but the reason is deeper. She is certainly no ideologue, critiquing those in and outside her own camp. For instance, she strongly defends capitalism, but then excoriates tech leaders. At the deepest level, her religious convictions also ground her critiques in history and tradition, not just her moralizing opinions on an issue. She starts one op-ed with an appeal to "ground yourself in what is true, elevated, even eternal." While her historical anecdotes and modern zingers are always a joy, what sets Noonan apart is her clear moral voice.

A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings
by Peggy Noonan
Portfolio, 352 pp., $31

Noah Gould is the alumni and student programs manager at the Acton Institute and a contributor to Young Voices.

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