True American Greatness
(Are we Citizens or Subjects?)
What’s Here – Major Sections
There are five major sections on the site – each noted on the top navigation. They are
summarized here. They will be consistently refined.
#1 “Citizens” or “Subjects”?
We currently face the fundamental issue of independent democratic self-rule vs. dependent authoritarian dominance. It is a test of our fundamental belief that all people are created equal and capable of self-rule vs. the belief that some people are born superior and should rule the others.
And it is a test of our character – our values, courage, perseverance, resilience – and our ability to rise above our differences to find the common ground and solidarity on which to stand together.
This is about being citizens, not subjects and acting from our “larger selves.” It is about acting from our best – and acting even if we are busy and tired and unsure of what actions to take. It is about calling on our courage, perseverance, and resilience (our larger selves) vs. retreating in the face of our fears, anxieties, uncertainties or apathy (our smaller selves). It is about our willingness to go outside of our normal comfort
zones to do what is required – to be what is required.
“Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’”
Unfortunately, our democracy is not meeting the needs of too many Americans, and it is decaying as all systems do over time without sufficient maintenance. We need to significantly improve our democratic processes and institutions. And we need to take on the big tough intimidating issues we face in our world, from climate change to affordable housing.
Both of those challenges require true American greatness – a critical mass of citizens calling on their best and persevering – together – over time – outside of our normal comfort zones.
Stepping up together as citizens to act with a “no fear” attitude matters. We either honor and model the American Greatness we have inherited – or we choose to be the generations that gave up and retreated back into authoritarian rule.
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage”.
The American experiment won’t survive “ordinary.” We focus on American greatness, not to puff ourselves up, but to acknowledge how hard it is to found – and sustain – a true democracy, particularly a diverse democracy.
The choice is clear. We can be ordinary subjects ruled by others or extraordinary citizens that take responsibility for ourselves.
Our democracy has been resilient and there are times when we, as citizens can sit back and enjoy our form of government without having to actively and intentionally support it. There are other times when we have to step up, call on our best, and act forcefully and relentlessly – together. Sometimes we have to go outside our comfort zones and stay there for an extended period. This is one of those times.
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
We have to do it together. The subjects of the English colony that became America were not all together at our founding. Nor have Americans been all together throughout our 250-year history. But there was a critical mass of Americans that transcended the natural differences to found America and there have been critical masses of Americans that have come together throughout our history to do what needed to be done to preserve our democracy.
#2 Two Foundation Blocks
The Two Foundation Blocks We Draw Upon and Model
Fortunately, we have two foundation blocks on which we can stand as we take on the challenges of being citizens and carry the American democracy forward. One is our extraordinary founding, and the other is our 250-year “no quit” trajectory since our founding – the effort to fully realize our founding vision for all Americans.
These are the foundation blocks of American Greatness and they are the foundation blocks that we can draw on as well as model.
Foundation Block #1 – Our Founding
The courage to establish a new type of nation
The first foundation block is America’s founding as a new type of country with new values, forms of government, and citizen power and responsibility. The founding of America wasn’t perfect, but it was a game-changer for the world. Americans had to make the commitment and sacrifices to fight a war against the strongest military in the world to bring the new nation into being. They had to find the courage to go into an unknown future with no models to follow or guarantees of success. And they had to persevere for years as well as develop the resilience to overcome lots of setbacks in order to found our nation.
These are the foundation blocks of American Greatness and they are the foundation blocks that we can draw on as well as model.
Foundation Block #2 – Our “No Quit” Historical Trajectory
The courage, persistence and resilience to “hold the course”
The second foundation block is the fact that, although it has had a mixed history of progress and backsliding, America has been working at realizing the founding principles and values ever since its beginning. It has been a relentless challenge with the right trajectory, a disappointing pace, and lots of small and large ups and downs – progress and back-sliding, but no quitting.
#3 Call to Action
Our Challenge Now – “Answering the Call” to take on our toughest challenges
American Greatness now rests on our willingness to continue on the path to realize the original vision and expand it to include all Americans. It depends on our willingness and ability to take on the big internal and external issues we face, such as of climate change, racism, the social/political polarization of America, the health of rural America, countering the dictatorships that would like to take America down, etc.
America was a grand experiment – and it still is. American Greatness and our democratic way of life is not conferred. It is constantly earned. We will either honor our founding and the generations that have persevered to model American Greatness by taking on the big challenges that call for it – or we will fall prey to the ever-present fear, uncertainty, and doubt – and retreat from the challenges. We will be “citizens” or “subjects” as reflected in our actions.
“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win, by fearing to attempt.”
The challenge is to continue the trajectory – moving forward, not backward – acting from courage and our “larger selves” vs. acting from fear and anxiety and our “smaller selves.” We will either carry American Greatness forward or we will let it slip away. Our democracy will not survive “ordinary.” It’s simply too tough of a challenge. It requires a great deal of us as citizens.
We are called to
- Say “yes” to being citizens and not subjects. We act from our “larger selves” as well as a sense that we are significant – that our actions matter. We refuse to be diminished by authoritarians and get suckered into acting from our “smaller selves.” And we find a way to overcome our differences to find the required common ground.
- Fight off the authoritarians trying to step on our throats – countering the strategies in the “authoritarian playbook.” We accept being the trustees of the American experiment that is currently threatened from within and actively counter the blatant strategies of the authoritarian playbook. We play defense.
- Follow the 10 strategies in a “citizens’ playbook” to protect and improve our democracy. We accept that democracy is awkward and often inefficient and that it is currently failing to meet the needs of many Americans – and that we need to act to protect and defend our core democratic processes and institutions. We play offense.
- Take on the big complex intimidating issues we face in our world. We face a range of issues, in the face of which it is easy to feel small, ineffective, and insignificant. We are called to counter those natural feelings and engage these issues through both individual and collective action. We choose the issues we will commit to and act.
“Life is either a daring adventurer or nothing.”
#4 Acting
Getting in the Game
There are a number of natural barriers that can stop or slow us in getting to action. Fortunately, there is a range of strategies that we can use to get past these barriers – and they are very direct and well within our capabilities.
#1 As “Citizens” We Act from our “Larger Selves.” Even if we feel small we must act large. Our larger selves are where we find courage, the ability to persevere and develop resilience, and where we find the lessons and capabilities learned throughout life along with confidence and a sense of significance – we make a difference.
Being a citizen vs. a subject requires that we act large simply because of the scope and scale of the challenges we face. To protect and improve the American democracy we must act from a sense that we can make a difference even if it’s unclear what kind of difference we might make. We can stand upon and model the two foundation blocks of our founding (including the qualities of our founders) and our 250-year “no quit” trajectory.”
“Mountains are only a problem when they are bigger than your spirit.”
#2 We Counter the Natural Lure of Acting from Our “Smaller Selves” and Becoming “Subjects.” Our smaller selves are ruled by fear, anxiety, feeling weak, doubting, feeling insecure, and having little faith in our abilities. Our smaller selves are characterized by grievances, victimhood, the fear of “others”, and a lack of confidence in our ability to govern ourselves. The authoritarian forces undermining our democracy rely on their ability to make Americans feel small and helpless and needing a “savior” to rescue them.
#3 We Build on Our Strengths. Feeling competent to act is key to acting from our larger selves – and we are competent. We have developed a range of competencies over the course of our lives, and we can act from that base – now – and build new competencies as we go. So, we get “in the game”, deploy our current strengths, and develop new strengths as we take on the challenges.
#4 We Avoid the “Aw Shucks” Phenomenon. The “aw shucks” phenomenon does not come from humility, but rather from our smaller selves. It is really a way to stay on the sidelines and avoid the challenges of being a citizen in our democracy – now. It is also a lie as we are not small and inadequate and fated to be “subjects” – cared for by the big strong “saviors” that are actually authoritarian bullies that prey on our smaller selves.
Counter “aw shucks” is simply a matter of accessing our larger selves and refusing to be victimized – by ourselves or the authoritarians.
“Successful people have fear, successful people have doubts, and successful people have worries. They just don't let these feelings stop them.”
#5 We Avoid the “Competency Trap.” The trap is getting caught in preparing to get in the game to such an extent that we never really get off the sidelines. We prepare on the sidelines to be competent, but never get in the game, so authoritarians win by default.
The key to avoiding the trap is to commit to action without feeling fully prepared and completely “ready.” This works because (a) we bring 70-90% of the competencies required; and (b) we can learn the other capabilities we need or want as we go. We can also avoid this trap by putting the competencies we want to develop into three phases (a) capabilities we absolutely need to in order to act now (few if any); (b) capabilities that we want to develop short-term “on the path” in order to increase contributions; and (c) capabilities that are “stretch goals” to be developed over time.
“It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you are not.”
#6 It’s a Different Challenge for Different People. There is no formula for being an effective citizen. We all lead challenging lives with varying demands – and we all bring an array of capabilities and confidence. There is no single “right way” to answer the call to act as effective citizens. It’s a different challenge for everyone.
#7 We Act Now – We do Not Wait. Failing to act now is simply a way of passively supporting the authoritarians that want to turn us into impotent dependent “subjects.” We either step up, or we get stepped on. We can start small, but we need to start or increase our efforts – now. We act from our larger selves and overcome the doubts and fears we have through our experience acting.
“You can sit in a dark room and think of light all you want, but that won't change the reality of the darkness around, but step up to light a candle and suddenly the dark reality turns into one filled with light.”
#8 Examples of How We Can Act as Citizens. There is a surprisingly wide range of actions that you can take as citizens. You are probably taking some already. Choosing specific actions to take or organizations to work with may take some effort (part of being an effective citizen), but the general categories are pretty clear. For example, four of the eleven categories are:
- We can donate money, time, effort, etc.
- We can use our connections
- We can protest peacefully
- We can be part of the advocacy process
Don’t be restricted by the categories and don’t feel that you have to be acting in every category. They are examples and opportunities.
Some of our actions won’t require going outside of our comfort zones or developing new capabilities, but some will. We have an opportunity to both contribute and make a difference as well as grow in the process.
#9 We Can Take the Next 3-5 Steps
Stepping up to be a citizen vs. being stepped on as a subject is a big deal, but it does not need to be complex. You can choose 3-5 actions to begin – some of which you are probably already doing. Starting small is fine. The key is to be “in the game” as a citizen of our democracy in some form – not “on the sidelines” as a subject of the authoritarians.
#5 Critical Topics
Critical Topics is the title of the fifth section, and it is composed of short documents that look at specific critical topics. For example:
- The difference between our larger selves and our smaller selves
- The basic strategies in the authoritarian playbook and how they are playing out
- The challenge of a diverse democracy – why diversity and democracy naturally conflict
- The challenge of finding a common truth
- Countering polarization