Aspen is a place for leaders to lift their sights above the possessions which possess them. To confront their own nature as human beings, to regain control over their own humanity by becoming more self-aware, more self-correcting, and hence more self-fulfilling.
Walter P. Paepcke, Aspen Institute Co-Founder
Aspen Institute
IDEAS Article, and Longform
Tending to Democracy
October 18, 2017
“I often describe what I do as democracy-maintenance work,” explained Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, at an April talk that was part of the “Conversations With Great Leaders in Memory of Preston Robert Tisch” series. Democracy needs constant monitoring, Ifill said, before quoting James Baldwin: “I love my country and hold to the obligation to critique it.”
Joining the conversation was Michele Norris, the executive director of The Bridge, the Institute’s new program on race, cultural identity, and inclusion. The pair discussed the responsibilities of citizenship as well as groundbreaking decisions and legislation like Brown v. Board of Education and the Voting Rights Act. Ifill concluded by calling for “a return to talking about the narrative of what it means to invest in public life.”
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