USA
Demographics
![A Year of Racial Reckoning](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/nullc8b151c8-dade-47d7-9ac4-7db2a31b18de/48134133167_89ea6b2216_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=666%2C0%2C2667%2C2667&w=290)
Two weeks before the first woman of color became Vice President, an angry mob that included members of the white supremacist group Proud Boys, stormed the US Capitol. As Ibram X. Kendi puts it, “we’re engaged in this struggle between two forces: racial progress and racist process.” Watch recent conversations that offer ways to recognize, reckon with and repair societal rac...
![American Reckoning, American Renewal](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/null33902f9a-d0ce-4853-b50a-debba24f7722/48146045446_947eec22f5_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=631%2C0%2C2737%2C2737&w=290)
Our national conversation is increasingly defined by deep divisions, worries about the stability of our political system, and even threats of political violence. Yet, in the midst of our national partisan rancor and political and cultural upheaval, you can find heroes, visionaries, and bold leaders.
![The Kids are Alright (No Thanks to Us)](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/70ba7b67-ab64-4f33-8770-a9649fa1e758/AdobeStock_88900312.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1617%2C0%2C1872%2C1872&w=290)
So many kids these days can be outspoken and inspiring, with world-changing ideas they’re ready to put into action. But in truth, we’ve not been great to the youth of today, leaving many of the most vulnerable behind and leaving the majority ill-prepared for the travails that are coming their way. Though it’s tempting to leave them the job of building the future, we first...
![The Dollar Divide: Wealth Gaps and the American Dream](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/95469eea-fe1e-486d-85f0-4a0be9fc1975/AdobeStock_89649171.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=430%2C0%2C1616%2C1616&w=290)
Capitalism has been a success, though certainly not for everyone. Disparities according to gender, race, and even birthplace have disadvantaged large groups of Americans, and increasing economic and political power among the wealthy leaves the working class — and increasingly the middle class — unable to get ahead. Can we create an inclusive capitalism?
![Reconsidering Rural America: Helping Flyover Country Take Off Again](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/55e33637-9e55-43ec-a2ea-f897d4bf3d99/AdobeStock_64930537.jpeg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=1031%2C0%2C4138%2C4138&w=290)
Rural communities were once the beating heart(land) of America, places of economic and social power. Today, they seem left to wither as dollars, workers, and priorities shift to the cities. Don’t write them off yet, though — there’s a growing movement that’s bringing innovation and energy to once-forgotten communities, and the reasons behind it are as much rational as nost...