Gardens of Democracy

A new book from Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer entitled The Gardens of Democracy explores the idea that democracy is a garden and must be tended to like one – gardens do not tend themselves, and neither does a democracy.

In a brief interview with the National Conference on Citizenship, which is certainly worth reading in full, Liu and Hanauer expound on this idea, and provide some further insight into their book.

Kristin Campbell: In the book, you speak about small acts compounding to tipping points of change. That demonstrating courtesy for others and “turning off a faucet and picking up a candy wrapper” are civic actions aligned with the same importance as more “formal” acts, such as voting and mentoring. Should we change the term “civic engagement” to “just being a good person?”

Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer: What we say in The Gardens of Democracy is that citizenship has to be about more than just formal political acts. It is about every aspect of how we live in community and, to quote the title of Bill Gates Sr.’s book, how we “show up for life.” This is partly about deeds, large and small. It is also about the story we tell about ourselves and about what constitutes normal behavior. In American life, it’s gotten to be too normal to be too selfish. It’s gotten to be too normal to think of ourselves as atomized and free to do what we like and to assume that things will take care of themselves. In a garden, we have to tend.