First published 2023
American democracy faces its gravest threat not from foreign adversaries like Russia, China, or North Korea, but from internal decay. Richard Haass identifies the core problem: citizens focus solely on rights while ignoring their responsibilities to each other and their government. The Constitution enshrines rights, but the most divisive conflicts arise when competing rights clash. Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer observed that difficult cases pit right against right, not right against wrong. Haass argues that obligations must stand alongside rights as democracy's foundation. He presents ten specific obligations that redefine American citizenship. These commitments counter the apathy, anger, selfishness, division, disinformation, and violence undermining the nation. Through historical analysis and political insight, Haass shows how citizens can recover the behaviors that built American success. The book provides a concrete action plan for people across the political spectrum to strengthen democracy from within.
Genres: american, political-science, politics, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: call-to-action
240 pages · Kindle Edition · Penguin Press