WHAT CITIZENS CAN DO, Part I

The New American Story doesn't start with government. It begins with you. You have to believe that your individual efforts can make a difference. You have to want to take positive steps to make America and the world a better place. Sometimes complaint and criticism are helpful, but they are not enough; we must all accept the creative responsibility inherent in citizenship. Acknowledge that change begins with yourself and that you won't sit on the sidelines anymore. Whether it's running for office, working on a campaign, organizing a petition drive, building a grassroots movement, starting a nonprofit enterprise, or volunteering in community service- when people reach a point where they believe in themselves and the worth of their goals, they can realize those goals. The fire of idealism burns first in an individual heart.

All of us can fulfill our obligations of citizenship in ways that best suit us. I may no longer be a U.S. senator, a presidential candidate, or even a practicing politician, but I am a citizen. Having spent all day every day for over twenty years thinking about public policy and politics and seeing our national and international moment today, I had to take action. This book represents my attempt to fulfill my own citizenship responsibility. It may or may not make an impact, but at least I've given it my best shot. I hope you give yours, too.

The most important thing to do, once you believe you can make a difference, is to stay informed. Self-government works only if citizens take the time to learn enough about their community, nation, and world to have informed opinions. If you've read this far, you've learned something about the ways in which our democratic process and dialogue have been undermined. Build on this knowledge. Read and listen to others. Think about it yourself. Without information, action is blind; with it, your path will be sure-footed and purposeful. David Hume, Adam Smith, and other thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment who shaped the thinking of our country's Founders emphasized the need for the active awareness of citizens. George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin all knew that a knowledgeable citizenry is essential to a democracy.

Like any other human activity, citizenship must be learned. In a recent poll commissioned by the American Bar Association, 45 percent of the respondents couldn't name the three branches of government. If close to a majority of Americans have no knowledge of the workings of our democracy and no desire to participate in it, self-government is endangered. To ensure that every citizen understands how our government works, we should require a civics course in every high school as a condition of graduation. We need to cultivate our democracy.

We're often told that new technologies are reshaping our civilization. To some extent that's true, but technologies come and go, whereas democracy is 2,500 years old. It's important to understand why this form of government has lasted, how it has changed, what version of it we have, and how it can be used to make a better life for the greatest number of Americans. Technology should not shape democracy; rather, democracy should shape technology. Democracy humanizes and controls what Adam Smith called the "selfish passions" of commerce. It allows all citizens to escape exploitation, develop their skills, and build their own lives. It legitimizes our collective effort and lends moral purpose to our individual achievements. The ethos of democracy focuses on the many, not the few; the citizen, not the marketplace; the long term, not the short term; the general interest, not the special interest. Math and science are important to our economic future, but teaching our children how to work together in a democracy is what will guarantee our freedom.

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Excerpted from "Chapter 13: What Citizens Can Do from" The New American Story by Bill Bradley. Copyright © 2007 by Bill Bradley. Published in February 2007 by Random House. All rights reserved.

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