We say “Yes” to Being a Citizen - 3 “Critical Success Factors”
“We either act as citizens of a democracy or give up and become subjects. We can’t not choose.”
There is no middle ground. There are a few key characteristics that we must model as citizens to avoid sliding into the impotence and dependency of being subjects. It’s a slippery slope and it takes intention and commitment to not simply become passive subjects.
#1 As “citizens” we must act from our “larger selves.” At this point in time we are challenged to be confident responsible “citizens” that make a difference – not weak insecure “subjects” that retreat into dependence.
Even if we feel small, we must “play large.” Being citizens vs. subjects requires acting from our larger selves because of the scope and scale of the challenges we face. Our larger selves come from a base of courage, commitment, responsibility, perseverance, and resilience – developed over a lifetime. Those qualities are there to a surprising degree if we call for them.
To protect the American experiment in democracy we must act from a sense that we can make a difference, even if we don’t know exactly how or what difference we can make when we start. We just need to step up and start. We can stand upon the foundation blocks of American Greatness that we have inherited in order to draw upon our best – and we find new “bests” in the process.
Our larger selves give us the confidence to take on the big tough issues any generation faces as well as the security to transcend our differences and sacrifice for the common good – just as the founders did and as Americans have over the past 250 years when called upon.
#2 We must counter the natural lure of acting (or not acting) from our “smaller selves” and becoming subjects. Our smaller selves are ruled by fear, by feeling weak, anxious, doubting, insecure, and by having little faith in our own abilities or those of our fellow citizens.
To be citizens and not subjects we must directly acknowledge and counter the natural draw of giving up and retreating into our smaller selves – giving in to doubts, a lack of confidence in ourselves and each other as well as our processes and institutions – and the desire for an image of certainty regardless of how empty that image always is.
That is the lure of being a subject, not a citizen. Our larger selves are the natural counter.
#3 We must step up together to counter the forces of polarization.
This does not mean ignoring our differences, but it does mean finding the way to go beyond them to do what we need to do now to protect the American experiment.
Diverse democracies are tough to build and maintain by their very nature. This is another reason why the American experiment won’t survive “ordinary.” We are tasked with transcending our differences to take on the tough challenges we face that require a high degree of solidarity.
Americans have always had serious differences, and we have handled those differences well at times and not well at others. Now is a time when we need to acknowledge and honor our differences – and find ways to build on them to protect our democracy.
