There's intense national feeling in America that could be called patriotism.

Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to say, Those who can, do, those who cant, teach, forgetting that those who teach get to write the history books.

Patriotism is the secret resource of a successful society.

There's a civic nationalism in Britain and dozens of other countries.

Inequality is not just an issue between individuals, between classes, between regions. It's between urban and rural.

In academic life, false ideas are merely false and useless ones can be fun to play with. In political life, false ideas can ruin the lives of millions and useless ones can waste precious resources. An intellectual's responsibility for his ideas is to follow their consequences wherever they may lead. A politician's responsibility is to master those consequences and prevent them from doing harm. Michael Ignatieff, a former professor at Harvard and contributing writer for the magazine, is a member of Canada's Parliament and deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

We must not lose sight of the fundamental issue of policy which is that people who come to the country on visa status must never be abused.