It's Up To Us
There is evidence that, despite the noise, we Americans are remarkably united regardless of our political leanings or where we reside. Our unity lies in the personal aspirations of each and every one of us. We all want to be loved, admired and respected. We want the freedom to be ourselves and express ourselves. We want to grow to our full potential without unfair, socially contrived, obstacles blocking our paths. We want our society to give us the necessary tools to get ahead in life, including good schools, access, an even playing field, and healthcare security. In sum, we want to live rich lives through our work, families, and friends while exploring our dreams. These are the aspirations that bind us together as a people. America is simply an extension of ourselves. We are the society we admire and that we criticize.
The America I Want program is about individual expression, collective listening, and citizen participation. It’s a forum to reflect on what we all want for our country.
Sponsored by
Our focus is on education.We are supporting a national dialogue to help strengthen our democracy. It's a national experiment in civics. We will make much of our material available to high schools and colleges.
YOU TALK ,
AMERICA LISTENS
America is a teaming, raucous, pluralistic country made up of people from around our planet. We are asking Americans to reflect on America, and to explore how their country might better serve the hopes of all its people. Our inspiration is the native North American Talking Circle and the New England town meeting tradition of participatory democracy. Our program embraces the great diversity of points of view, of backgrounds, and of ways of being an American, which underpin our diverse and multifaceted nation.
THE AMERICA I WANT IS...
See what Americans want for the country
Your words will automatically appear in America's Word Cloud. It is constantly being updated. You will also be able to break down the results by region, state and other categories. Our pilot state is Vermont.
So join us. Let's hear from you.
STATES
Ongoing Results
The video submissions keep coming in. We sort and tag them by various criteria, notably subject matter. Current results in this category are shown in the pie chart to the right. As new submissions are received, they will automatically be reflected in our chart. The power of the individual submission is in the immediacy of its expression. The power of the collective submissions is what it shows us America might become.
LEADERS AND THOUGHT INFLUENCERS
TALK ABOUT AMERICA
We are taking the important topics you have raised and inviting experts and thought influencers to discuss them, drawing on their knowledge and experience. We are also asking leaders to tell us what they admire about their states, what their states can contribute to America, and how America might be better off it it were more like their states.
Here are some of the questions
we need to answer together
Many feel the American Dream has left our shores. How do we bring opportunity back home?
Diversity defines America. How do we get all Americans to embrace diversity?
Our Constitution never aspired to universal equality. How can it fulfill its promise to all?
Action
The heart of our program is the video submissions of individual Americans expressing their aspirations for their country. There are, however, three additional elements, deriving from these submissions: our group discussions at schools and colleges, our digital interviews
and our live-streaming discussions. These elements are fundamental to turning what Americans want into actions.
Live-streaming
Sessions
In this part of our program we come full circle. We will take America's topics and invite our leaders and experts to discuss them with those who have submitted them and with the general public.
Results
Empathize
As Americans we tend to live in
our separate worlds. In some
respects America doesn't know
America. Our program will expose Americans to different ways of being an American. This experience will help us all empathize with challenges facing other Americans.
Instruct
“The America I Want Is…”program is a national experiment in civics for our schools, colleges, and the country as a whole. We will explore the common bonds that define us as a country.
Engage
Our program puts us in direct touch with our nation's leaders and thought influencers. We will take America's top concerns and discuss them in live-streaming sessions to determine how they might be put into action.
Archive
The America I Want submissions will be archived for current and future reference. It will be the basis for an ever-expanding resource library reflecting a pivotal moment in our history and accessible to everyone.
After two years of careful planning, "The America I Want" program is finally ready to enter its beta testing phase! Upon successful completion, we’ll be opening doors for schools across the country to join us. Numerous schools are already on board, enthusiastic to participate. We invite you to contribute and help us extend our reach to schools nationwide.