We may be the better part of two years away from the next presidential election, but the central Democratic narrative of the coming campaign has already come into clear focus. Democrats are poised to employ a two-pronged strategy. First, they'll speak to the electorate's festering personal anger with President Donald Trump. Second, they'll promise a bevy of new benefits, including some combination of Medicare for All, free college for all, the Green New Deal, and reparations.
Here's my concern. While both these strategies may have something to recommend them, Democrats are missing a crucial third prong. While we are fighting for new rights, we also need to demand a reinvigorated sense of responsibility. We cannot simply promise the country more—we need also to ask more of one another. The Democratic Party is strongest when we challenge the public to give, not just promise the public more of what they get.
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