Reinventing Citizenship draws on the work of many individuals and institutions. But it is up to us all to reinvent citizenship . This is our public work. The resounding response has been to restructure or reinvent those institutions. But the first task is to reinvent citizenship.
Democracy relies on strong, active citizenship inside and outside of government.
In American history, the citizen has been not only a voter or a rights-bearing member of the nation or a consumer of services. The citizen has also been a producer, a public-spirited agent in problem solving and common work. But today, such citizenship is difficult to sustain. People see themselves in narrow roles, not as public actors. Yet addressing the tough challenges we face today will require people to reconceive of themselves as citizens.