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Light Many Fires began as a book called When We The People Lead, The Leaders Will Follow. It is becoming much more. The book grew out of a simple but unsettling observation: America’s core problem is not that we are hopelessly polarized. It’s that most people—the exhausted, reasonable 70% majority—have gradually been separated from our sense of agency. We don’t vote regularly, we consume politics as entertainment, and assume that meaningful change is the work of others. The r

I HAVE A DEEP AVERSION TO TELLING others what to do, feel, or say. In this essay, I throw this personal commitment overboard. Why? Because I just read a Pew Research report from March that says “Americans are more likely than people in other countries surveyed in 2025 to question the morality of their fellow countrymen.” According to Pew, “The United States is the only place we surveyed where more adults (ages 18 and older) describe the morality and ethics of others living in

Young people trying to "stay out of politics." (Good luck.) A NEW FRIEND, GLYNN BOLTMAN, recently shared a podcast she created about young voters. In it, she reflects on what she learned while interviewing young people across America’s heartland. She conducted interviews in three swing states. Hoping to better understand why so many young Americans feel politically disengaged, she spoke with people in fast-food restaurants, gas stations, and coffee shops. (Listen to Glynn's b

5/14/26 In my book, When We The People Lead, The Leaders Will Follow, I implore young people to get involved in fixing what ails our country, admitting that my generation—I’m a Boomer—has left the young a hornet’s nest of intertwined problems. I recognize the potentially offensive irony: We created a mess, now you should go fix it. My generation is turning over a country caught in a self-reinforcing cycle of civic decline, oligarchy, and political extremism, all of which co

OLDER AMERICANS often look at younger voters and see apathy. They see low turnout at No Kings rallies and note weak voting participation, then conclude that young people are apathetic. I believe this conclusion misses what is happening. The issue is not that younger Americans don’t care. It’s that many young people don’t think their participation will make a meaningful difference in improving things. That distinction matters enormously. Young people, compared to older A

by Richard McKnight, PhD Citizenship is often treated as something external: a legal status, a set of rights, a periodic obligation to vote. But that definition is far too thin to sustain a democracy—especially one under strain. Citizenship is both inner and outer work. The outer work is visible: voting, organizing, serving, showing up. The inner work is quieter but just as essential: making a decision about our relationship to America and the role we play within it. To make

Don't believe the headlines about polarization. Here's an example. Is it true or false? “America is a nation split into two furious camps, locked in an endless culture war.” It's actually false or mostly false. It's a picture that is badly distorted. The next time someone tries to intimate that we are a nation of slavering jackels at one another's throats, push back. In my book, When We The People Lead, The Leaders Will Follow, I spell out what is far closer to the truth: The

In a recent print conversation between NYT columnists, conservative Bret Stephens, who calls himself “a law and order guy,” and liberal Frank Bruni, discussed the cruelty on display in Minneapolis and the shooting of Renee Good. Stephens did not dismiss the horror, but stressed that America has endured worse moments. Bruni’s response to this caught my attention: “‘We’ve survived a lot worse’ sounds increasingly to me like a psychic binky—more pacifier than reality check.” H