James Fallows is an American writer and journalist. He has been a national correspondent for The Atlantic for many years. His work has also appeared in Slate, The New York Times Magazine, The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The American Prospect, among others. He is a former editor of U.S. News & World Report, and as President Jimmy Carter's chief speechwriter for two years was the youngest person ever to hold that job. Fallows has been a visiting professor at a number of universities in the U.S. and China and holds the Chair in U.S. Media at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. He is the author of eleven books, including National Defense, for which he received the 1983 National Book Award, Looking at the Sun (1994), Breaking the News (1996), Blind into Baghdad (2006), Postcards from Tomorrow Square (2009), China Airborne (2012), and Our Towns.
Lyrics to the song that was inspired by the interview:
OUR TOWN
In our town we have pride
We don't form factions or divide
We chose to come together
And together we decide
By ourselves, we don't wait
For the government or state
To help us with our problems
We fix issues that we face
We are united
We are neighbors
To get things done
We work as one
We rise together
Or not at all
We share a future
When we stand tall
In our town, we've made changes
To get young people to stay
By giving them the helpful breaks
They can do things here their way
And our town's always growing
While keeping heritage
It isn't small, it isn't big
It's perfect as it is
We are united
We are neighbors
To get things done
We work as one
We rise together
Or not at all
We share a future
When we stand tall
Our town was made from what we do
Our town was built by me and you
Our town's alive
Our town is true
Our town is black, our town is white
Our town is red, our town is blue
Our town's the color
Of me and you
It wasn't drawn up from top-down
We raised it up out of the ground
Our town has roots
Our towns foundations
Our town is living history
Our town is straight simplicity
Our town is honest
Our town is free
Our town has people that belong
Our town will go on living long
Our town is stable
Our town is strong
This is our town
Look at our town
It is our town
We love our town