At the launch of the Zócalo Public Square/Cal Humanities “Searching for Democracy” series, author, civic entrepreneur, and former Clinton speechwriter Eric Liu, a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion, asked the audience to consider an issue that pervades all aspects of American life: citizenship. It’s one that cuts across political belief, class, and geography, but “most of us, most of the time, don’t think or talk about” it.
American conversations about citizenship — what the fathers of the nation and the framers of the Constitution fought for —are thin and polarized. The left speaks of global citizenship; the right talks about exclusion. This is something the homeland security community should be willing to think about. If we get lost in the weeds of the fight, then we lose perspective on why we’re fighting. Learn more about this important series, and check out the full video of Liu’s talk.
