They also, I think, in many cases, don't study it. My guess is, most Americans take it for granted. We're three years away from marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. So we ought to be worried and we ought to do something about it.ĪMNA NAWAZ: Do you think the idea of American exceptionalism in some way prevents most Americans from seeing our democracy as vulnerable in any way? I'm simply saying no one can be confident that the best will happen, that we're somehow out of the woods. We are as polarized as we have ever been as a society. We can't meet many of our domestic challenges. We can't pass much of the legislation we need in this country. Our political institutions still are not really working as intended. This is a country where I - it's all too easy to imagine frequent widespread politically inspired violence.

RICHARD HAASS: Well, just because democracy survived that day, it doesn't mean we have the luxury of being sanguine. history have raised doubts about the future of American democracy and even the United States itself.Īnd, as you know, a lot of people said, you know what, yes, January 6 was terrible, but the system held, democracy survived. RICHARD HAASS, Author, 'The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens': Great to be with you.ĪMNA NAWAZ: So, you write in this book, the greatest threat to America right now comes from within, as you say, from political divisions that for only the second time in U.S. 'The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens' argues that democracy works best when citizens recognize not just their rights, but also their duties.Īmna spoke with its author, Richard Haass, a veteran diplomat and outgoing president on the - of the Council on Foreign Relations.ĪMNA NAWAZ: Richard Haass, welcome back to the 'NewsHour.' GEOFF BENNETT: We often hear deep concerns about the state of American democracy, but a new book provides some optimistic advice and answers.

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