Citizens have the power and the responsibility to make an impact in their families, communities and government, Huffington Post co-founder and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington said Monday.
Huffington joined 2009 Massachusetts candidate for Senate special election and City Year co-founder Alan Khazei to discuss their new books and promote the role of the citizen and service at Suffolk Law School to a crowd of about 120.
"If we want to save the country we love, we have to get engaged," Huffington said. "Democracy is not a spectator sport."
Huffington said that in her book, "Third World America," which was released last week, she addresses the problems facing the American people.
She said polls show that 100 million Americans are worse off than their parents were at their age, and unemployment numbers remain a concern and barrier to progress.
The only way to channel the frustration is through political involvement, service and giving, Huffington said.
"There is no greater antidote for despair than action," she said.
She said stories she heard from citizens in the process of her research point to "an incredible amount of creativity, resiliency, innovation."
During the question and answer period, Huffington described her own upbringing and immigrant experience, and said the erosion of financial security has led to the American dream moving farther and farther out of reach as the gap between rich and poor widens.
"We're on this trajectory of becoming a country of extremes," she said.
"We're dealing with becoming a country that has really stopped making things and has started making things up," she added.
In a tangible way, citizens need to gain financial literacy, Huffington said.
"We need to recognize that this is financial warfare," she said.
Khazei spoke of his newly released book, "Big Citizenship," and the ability of citizens to make an impact if they get involved.
Telling the story of his upbringing and the development of his interest in public service, Khazei said he has seen the power of the citizen in passing a service act and helped AmeriCorps regain funding.
"Lesson learned for me is it takes citizens," he said.
Khazei said Washington has been mired in the big or small government debate for too long &- stuck between Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
He said empowered citizens can be an example for leaders.
"It's up to us," he said. "If we lead, politicians will follow."
Khazei said rather than seeing President Barack Obama as an individual responsible alone for making change, citizens have to step up and contribute to improving government and communities.
"Even the president of the United States can't do it all by himself," he said.
He said if citizens donated one percent of their time to one issue, they could make an impact.
"If you just pick one issue, one cause," he said. "Just dedicate some of your time."
"We need everybody to get in the game," he added.
Attendees said they appreciated the idea of focusing on one or two issues and donating a small amount of time toward effecting change.
Katie Logue, an architect who volunteered with Khazei's campaign, said she appreciated the speakers' articulating of problems and solutions.
"You can't think of the whole big thing, just pick something," she said. "Get off your butt, pick something and just do it."
Suffolk Law evening student Leah Tenney said she enjoyed hearing the speakers' stories and message.
"Chip in and do something," she said. "If everyone did that, it would become a movement."
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