Our nation faces a crisis of democracy.
People feel cynical and impotent.
Whatever its origins, this crisis of democracy has left most of us frustrated, unsure of what to do or whether doing anything is even a good idea. When I spoke about this to a class of graduate students in public health at the University of California in Berkeley, I told stories of volunteers' successes and discussed the healing that was taking place between people and government. As I spoke, I felt a growing uneasiness in the room. After what seemed to be a long silence, a student raised her hand. But if you're right, if individuals can make a difference with their government, that means we might have to do something.