Everyone knows the standard public meeting in America: formal agenda handouts, official presentations, and three-minute speeches at the microphone for citizens. It’s boring. It doesn’t work. And it’s mysterious—because the …
I’m a native Angeleno. I like to throw that out at dinner parties just to see if any other natives are in the room. We’re usually a small minority, because …
As she takes a seat behind a table to begin a town meeting about a local planning issue, Leslie Knope—the local official played by Amy Poehler on the NBC sitcom, …
U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine thinks that democracy in America today is “unhealthy” and “a wreck.” Yet in a wide-ranging, often raucous conversation with Sacramento Bee editorial page editor Stuart …
In measures of civil engagement, Minnesota ranks at the top, and California ranks near the bottom. Minnesotans vote, get involved with community organizations, and build up social capital in a …
Some people are born with American citizenship. Some people have to earn it. Either way, most of them recognize they have something to feel fortunate about. But should they feel …
What is citizenship in America? It is a legal status. It is a thing conferred by the accident of birth or by bureaucratic process. It is a cultural concept, and …
Less than 70 years after the official repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Chinese Americans hold prominent positions in every sector of U.S. life. Meanwhile, China itself is becoming more …
APRIL 2, 2012. The essay “How Doctors Die,” by Dr. Ken Murray, first published in Zócalo Public Square, has been selected for the collection The Best American Essays 2012. The …
Constantino Diaz-Duran is a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University. He is chronicling his walk from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate his eligibility …
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