If You’re Worried About the Future of Our Country, Do Something About It

By Robert E. Rubin for The New York Times

In this New York Times article, Robert Rubin writes that as coordinated threats from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran intensify, and political polarization deepens at home, civic engagement has become more essential, not less. Rubin’s own path to engagement started unexpectedly with an invitation to join the American Ballet Theater board. This led to decades of involvement across politics, policy, and the arts. At 84, he's still learning—recently taking AI tutorials to stay current with technological developments. His central point: meaningful participation doesn't require expertise or formal positions, just curiosity and willingness to contribute.

Opportunities to get involved in society—in policy, charity, politics, education, combatting poverty, and more—are available to everyone, Rubin writes. And American society will, he concludes, benefit enormously from this kind of active citizenship.