Active Citzizenship

The survival of a free society depends upon its citizens. Experience suggests that we make much more progress when we put aside the idea that people who don’t agree with us are ignorant of the facts, stupid, or evil and focus instead on what we have in common. Active citizens must strive to synthesize and reconcile conflicting views, values, and priorities. This is not easy to do.

One of the best examples of this type of deliberative process is the convention that produced the U.S. Constitution. The delegates came with strong and conflicting personal and regional interests. What they shared was a commitment to some very basic principles of freedom and governance. It took months of collaboration and, at times, contentious discussion, but the result has blessed the lives of millions.

When Abraham Lincoln dedicated the cemetery at Gettysburg, he spoke of “the great task remaining before us”—that of preserving a free and democratic government. This task is not finished, and it never will be. It will always require active citizens to maintain a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”