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
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.