Eric Liu

“Power is no more inherently good or evil than is fire.”

“If you don't like how things are, you have the obligation to change them.”

“Citizenship is the constant and creative work of tending to the garden of democracy.”

“Literacy is the prerequisite to citizenship.”

“To be an effective citizen, you don't need to be a professional politician.”

“Hate is a force of decomposition; love is a force of composition.”

“To be a conscious creator of your own story is a great power.”

“You are more powerful than you think. But you have to read. And write. And argue.”

“The most important office in a democracy is the office of citizen.”

“Our task is not to lament the decay of civic life. It's to be catalysts of civic life.”

“Character is the muscle of citizenship.”

“Not to vote is to vote.”

“Power plus character is a formula for honorable, effective, and sustainable action.”

“A patriot is someone who is willing to dissent, to question, to challenge the status quo.”

“We are all better off when we are all better off.”