It has been 33 years since President Reagan gave his farewell address to the nation. His parting words proudly reflected on his tenure as president: noting America’s resilience against communism, the economic success spurred by tax cuts and deregulation and the overall sense of optimism that had seized the country’s mood. As the president closed his remarks, however, he shifted his tone and spoke candidly to the American people about the important work left to do. That much had been done in eight years to change the course of America for better was indisputable. But Reagan cautioned that the hard-won change would be temporary unless the American people resolved to nurture a culture of “informed patriotism.”

Reagan was hopeful for America’s future; he was equally chastened by the reality that the country was entering a momentous transition, the effects of which were unknown but significant. He said “[y]ounger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children.” The wider culture was already gesturing in that direction, as he acknowledged that “well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style” as it once was among the entertainment class. Reagan understood “the resurgence of national pride” that had swept through the country “won’t count for much, and it won’t last unless it’s grounded in thoughtfulness and knowledge.” It wasn’t enough for America to regain its patriotic spirit; it must be “reinstitutionalized,” he said, and that “begins at the dinner table.”

Reagan’s address was prescient. He was foretelling what would inevitably happen to the American people if their shared love of country turned cold. They would forget who they are and how they are to live. His simple warning has become an ominous reality. As the shared horizon of our national history has faded, the common bonds of our love for one another have frayed. We have lost our story, and with it, our sense of national pride and duty to one another. We have traded belief in the American Creed for spurious ideologies that fuel tribal hatreds, pitting neighbor against neighbor.

Americans are unique among the peoples of history because we are not united by blood, soil, ethnicity, language or religion. Rather, we share a common story whose narrative arc bends toward this single proposition: “that all men are created equal.” Locating ourselves within that story, and learning to tell it faithfully – neither concealing its tragedies, nor apologizing for its triumphs – is essential for knowing who we are and how we should live. Without that story, America is nothing. Retrieving a Storied Patriotism makes our life together intelligible and it teaches us to properly order our loves toward what is true, just and good. It reinvigorates our vocation of civic duty.

Tribalism threatens our shared identity because tribes tell rival stories of America.

Some promote false narratives of perpetual victimization; others speak of unmitigated greatness. Both accounts militate against the truth. They deliberately mischaracterize the story by reading it through a distorted lens. Here’s the first rule of American hermeneutics: The canon of our history must be interpreted through the creed of our ideals. Together, canon and creed overcome false narratives that seek to pull us apart. They create an interpretive balance that welcomes broad ascent among diverse people.

Reagan was right: “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” America’s future depends on the stories we tell our children. Teaching them the story of America, and helping them find their rightful place within its pages, is the most patriotic thing we can do.