What does purpose mean? It means the deepest desire for our short lives to mean something. . . . To speak a language of purpose is to return to first principles and to be able to answer, in plain English, the plain questions of Why? Why should we chip in to help someone else? Why should we defer gratification? Why should we care about the long term? Why should we trust anyone who seems to be limiting our ability to do what we want?
Eric LiuOur commitment should be to leave our environment in better shape than when we found it, our nation's fiscal house in better order, our public infrastructure in better repair, and our people better educated and healthier. To indulge in immediate gratification and exploitation is an insult to previous generations, who sacrificed for us, and thievery from the next generation, who depend on our virtue.
Eric LiuIdentity in America is complicated but it's also simple: it's about whom you identify with and who identifies with you.
Eric LiuMuch of our national debate proceeds as if China and America were locked in a zero-sum game in which one's loss is precisely the other's gain.
Eric Liu