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Exploring the American Identity

National Public Radio's Juan Williams Assesses the State of "The American Family"

by Kaifi Jamil, NCIV Intern

The Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel was alive with excited conference participants as they convened for Friday’s Citizen Diplomacy Luncheon, a highly anticipated event of the 2008 NCIV National Meeting. NCIV Board Member Jerrold Keilson opened the event by welcoming participants and describing the plan for NCIV's 50th Anniversary publication. He also introduced Autumn Cutter, Director, International Visitor Program, World Affairs Council of Seattle. With her usual cheerfulness, Ms. Cutter welcomed Mr. Juan Williams, Senior Correspondent, National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Mentioning that he is a leading journalist and expert in Americana and national political coverage, Ms. Cutter also noted that Mr. Williams hosted an NPR series of town hall meetings that was a part of The Changing Face of America, a year-long program examining how Americans are adapting to social and cultural changes in the new century.

The focus of Mr. Williams’ speech was that American society is changing in terms of its demographics, economy, and culture. He stated, “This is a wonderful moment in American life, a wonderful moment when you can see what I think of as a sort of psycho-demographic picture of America where we all get together as one big family.” He observed that the American character comes into sharper focus during a presidential election year such as this one, and that this exercise in democracy is a time when everyone comes together. But the national family is constantly evolving, leading Mr. Williams to remark: “I’m living history. History is all around me.” According to Mr. Williams, a signpost of political change can be found in the fact that an African-American and a woman are seriously competing to win the presidency, a position that has historically been dominated by white males. The American economy has also been shifting its face from an agrarian one in the beginning of the 20th century into an information and biotechnology-oriented system where we see daily advertisements for products that change the human body.

To further stress his point, Mr. Williams emphasized the evolving fabric of American society itself—a fabric being rewoven through immigration, a rising proportion of young Americans as well as senior citizens, and the professional growth of women. There is “tremendous change in terms of the way we think about who we are as an American people.” The racial make-up of the United States is shifting as more immigrants settle in the country from Latin American countries, and the major minority becomes Hispanic. The landscape of age in modern America shows that one quarter of Americans is young (under 18) while another quarter is in their 60s or older. Women such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Hillary Clinton exemplify the trend that American women are becoming more prominent in professional life and schools. Even to a crowd as diverse in nature as the NCIV network, many listeners found the statistics to be eye-opening.

Mr. Williams pointed out that there are tensions between these groups as immigrants bring their own cultures and languages with them into the American family, while young people desire political and economic changes that senior citizens find uncomfortable. The family dinner table is undoubtedly a large one that contains differing cultural values and viewpoints. Each branch of the American community is moving and changing in its own way, and yet all are equally American.

As an astute observer of the United States, Mr. Williams offered golden advice to his audience of citizen diplomats representing different states and communities. He stated that Americans must take the time to enthusiastically explain their many tensions, changes, and conflicts to the rest of the world that may not understand how they live together as one nation. Whichever part of the American family someone may belong to, he or she is an individual who contributes to the whole with communication and action.

The citizen diplomat connects the American family to the world’s other families with whom we live and communicate. In Mr. Williams’ words, he or she must “recognize you’re in a fight to explain America, to understand America, to get involved with creating positive change in America.” Such words certainly resonated among the accomplished citizen diplomats in the crowd. Mr. Williams’ words of motivation and excellent speech won him a standing ovation.

PHOTO:  (L-R) Juan Williams, NPR, Autumn Cutter, World Affairs Council of Seattle, and Jerrold Keilson and Cecil Morgan, NCIV Board Members

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