Two words.

Chutzpah & Humility

Chutzpah means knowing that I have a voice that needs to be heard and the right to speak it.

Humility means accepting the fact that my truth is always partial and may not be true al all so I need to listen with openness and respect, especially to “the other” as much as i need to speak my own voice with clarity and conviction.

Humilty + Chutzpah = the kind of citizens a democracy needs.

          ~from Healing the Heart of Democracy by Parker Palmer (p. 43)

 

What sort of citizen are you?