Q&A with Bill Bradley: What Citizens Can Do

"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 it's 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."

Question: What are the most important things that citizens can do to make positive change and to realize the messages of the New American Story?

Take charge of your own life. Stay informed about our democracy and the public policy challenges we face. Give some time for hands-on public service. Read The New American Story and get five friends to read it. Start a "meet-up" to brainstorm how to promote positive ideas for change. Take a pledge to support only candidates who tell the truth about the big issues. Take a pledge to do something as simple as exercising and not smoking, if government will assure health care for all. Take a pledge that you won't buy an SUV if government raises mileage standards to 44 miles per gallon and gives you a subsidy to buy a fuel-efficient car. Take a pledge to support only candidates who tell the truth about the big issues. Demand the truth.

Question: What does it mean to be a citizen of America?  How should Americans participate in democracy?  What about those who feel they don't have time?

There has never been a time in our history when more Americans, as individuals, were volunteering to make their communities better. But today we must be not only local citizens but national and even global citizens. We must do that because, as the NASA picture of the Earth taken from space reminds us, we are all connected. If 25 percent of the American adult population set aside three hours a week for some kind of public service, that would be 7 billion hours a year and the country would be better off for it. In addition, I think before people reach age 25 they should devote at least a year to public service, in the military or a teacher corps, or contribute in countless other possible ways.

Question: Do you think other countries have a stronger sense of personal involvement in community, and if so, why?

No. In many other countries most community needs are met by the state. Here there is the third sector, the volunteer sector of our civil society. It sets us apart. In addition, we need the resources of the state and we need individuals to accept responsibility for their own communities and their nations. If we combine individual responsibility, community action, and national resources, we can solve all our problems and create the circumstance for Americans to thrive in the 21^st century. Indeed, we can write our own chapter in this American story.

Question: Are Americans idealistic at heart?  How can we harness this passion to better our communities and our country?

It begins with you. If each of us believes that we can make the world a better place, we can. We have done great things in the past and we can do them again. Our democracy allows us to control our own destiny. But for citizens truly to be in control of their own destiny requires citizen action. It means getting off the couch and into the arena. It requires you working with your fellow citizens. And do you know the good news? There are answers to our problems. It's not rocket science. All it requires is political will. The Internet, with its social networks, allows for citizen power to be mobilized as never before. All it takes are ideas and work. I've tried to give the ideas and proposals in this book and I hope you'll take it from there. Become a New American Story citizen, get together with your neighbor in a New American Story meet-up and change the world.

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