Society becomes how you behave. Eric Liu More Quotes by Eric Liu More Quotes From Eric Liu Here's a proposal, offered only partly in jest: no resident of the United States, whether born here or abroad, should get to be a citizen until age 18, at which time each such resident has to take a test. Eric Liu united-states citizens age Why does an iPhone cost only a couple hundred dollars? Because, as the stage performer Mike Daisey depicted in an arresting one-man show called 'The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,' Apple's shiniest products are made by a shadowy company in China called Foxconn. Eric Liu couple jobs men We all want merit to mean something, and we all may be tempted to reduce that meaning to something measurable and concrete like an SAT score. The reality, though, is that who deserves entry into an institution depends on what the institution exists to do. Eric Liu may mean reality Like the 'little emperors' of one-child China, too many Boomers were taught early that the world was made (or saved) for their comfort and enjoyment. They behaved accordingly, with a self-indulgence that was wholly rational, given their situation. Eric Liu self comfort children After watching my first World Series in 1977, I wanted to be Reggie Jackson. I bought a big Reggie poster. I ate Reggie candy bars. I entered a phase during which I insisted on having the same style of glasses Reggie had: gold wire frames with the double bar across. Eric Liu wire style glasses In the end no segregationist scheme has withstood the force of a simple idea: equality under law. Eric Liu simple law ideas If half-black Barack Obama had decided years ago to call himself white - which his genes certainly entitled him to do - his story would have carried very different meaning. If millions of part-black people had followed him into whiteness, then the N.A.A.C.P. would be in true crisis. Eric Liu white people years What we should celebrate more than diversity is what we do with it. How do we bring everyone in the tent and create something together? In a twenty-first century way that activates our true potential, we all need to become sworn-again. Eric Liu diversity together way When Bryan Price taught me how to throw a changeup, he made me see myself. All my life, I've been the equivalent of a fastball pitcher - trying to use blazing speed and brute force to wow the people around me. Eric Liu wow trying people America is exceptional: but because it yields the likes of Obama, not the likes of Bush. Eric Liu yield usa america I had heard so much negative talk about our generation, that we're slackers and young fogies, that I knew wasn't true of the people I know. Eric Liu our-generation people negative In the end, a new Americanization movement can't just be about listing our privileges and immunities, which we catalog in our laws. It also has to be about reinforcing our duties, which we convey in our habits. Eric Liu privilege movement law Much of our national debate proceeds as if China and America were locked in a zero-sum game in which one's loss is precisely the other's gain. Eric Liu zero games loss Sometimes when I listen to fellow progressives, I wonder if the only lesson we took away from the '04 elections is that politics is a word game. Eric Liu election lessons games The Boomers have modeled a set of bad habits, and one grand gesture is not going to unwind all those bad habits. Eric Liu unwind gestures habit The nativism behind the push to repeal or amend the Fourteenth is ugly and obvious. Eric Liu obvious ugly behinds Today, public understanding of our past and our system of government is pitifully low. Eric Liu government understanding past 'The Purpose-Driven Life' is not just a mega-bestselling work of Christian faith; it is the thing that every voter, secular or not, yearns for. Eric Liu voters purpose christian Honest people know that the road to success and virtue always involves shared sacrifice, hard work, and gratification postponed. Telling people otherwise isn't leadership, it is pandering. Eric Liu sacrifice hard-work people My grandfather was a general in the Nationalist Chinese Air Force during World War II, and I grew up hearing the pilot stories and seeing pictures of him in uniform. Eric Liu chinese air war
