#hi

Republicans say they want citizenship to truly mean something. Let's be equal-opportunity about it and test everyone, including those very Republicans and others whose forbears came here generations ago. ↗

— Eric Liu

#ago #came #citizenship #everyone #generations

Six decades ago, as Mao's Communists seized power, the question in Washington was, 'Who lost China?' Now, as his capitalist descendants stand astride the world stage and Washington worries about decline, it seems to be, 'Who lost America?' ↗

— Eric Liu

#ago #america #astride #capitalist #china

Talk of citizenship today is often thin and tinny. The word has a faintly old-fashioned feel to it when used in everyday conversation. When evoked in national politics, it's usually accompanied by the shrill whine of a descending culture-war mortar. ↗

— Eric Liu

#citizenship #conversation #descending #everyday #feel

You cannot mistake Bush's clarity of purpose. He believes in a story about freedom and opportunity that makes his followers feel like they aren't just ticking their days down but are part of something larger than themselves. ↗

— Eric Liu

#believes #bush #cannot #clarity #days

'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

#christian faith #every #faith #just #life

Throughout this country's history there have of course been systematic efforts to create an official underclass. ↗

— Eric Liu

#country #course #create #efforts #history

Today's multiracial Americans are at greater liberty to choose how they'd like to be seen, and under less pressure to pass for white. ↗

— Eric Liu

#greater #how #less #liberty #like

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

#depends #deserves #entry #exists #institution

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

#apple #arresting #because #called #china

Why should citizenship be a matter of birth? The premise held by those who want to end birthright citizenship is that some people deserve it and some do not - that the status shouldn't be handed out automatically. Frankly, that's a premise worth considering. ↗

— Eric Liu

#birth #birthright #citizenship #considering #deserve