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Language: en

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We are in an ironic moment in American
democracy. We are more connected than

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ever, but we are objectively more
polarized perhaps than we've ever been.

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Have we ever been in a situation like
that? Of course. Think about the Civil War,

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the Great Depression, the civil rights
movement, debates over the Vietnam War.

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All of these are moments where the
American populace felt that something

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important was at stake and there was a
great deal of friction about the right

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way to move forward. What we need to make sure though, is that the institutions

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that carried us through some of those
prior struggles, remain strong enough to

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get us through this. The University of
Virginia was created in the cradle of

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democracy by those who founded our
democracy. It has continued to be the

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place to go to to study current
democratic issues. The Democracy

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Initiative is a brand-new, cross
university initiative, it's going to

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bring together the best assets at the
University of Virginia. That's going to

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give us the opportunity to bring diverse
perspectives whether it's someone from

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anthropology, politics, economics, the law
school and bringing the best of their

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experience to bear on these complex
challenges. We want to engage with the

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public as well. One of the most exciting
ways we'll do that will be the

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Presidential Ideas Festival. The Ideas
Festival will bring leaders from public

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policy from around the world, including a
past United States president, to better

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understand the challenges that confront
us but also how we can move forward. In

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order to keep these institutions of
government strong we have to keep asking

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questions of our democracy. Our country
is not inevitable it is reliant upon our

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engagement and our commitment to it.