Klibanoff is managing director of Made By Us.
In the last few months, you might have found yourself thinking:
“This shouldn’t be how things are. Why do we do things this way?”
“I feel helpless to make change. There’s nothing an average person can do.”
“How did we get here? And why didn’t I learn this in school?”
“I don’t even know what I think anymore.”
You’re not alone. Amid uncertainty, violence, loss, inflation, global threats, crises of all kinds – no matter what part of the United States you’re in, or what side of the political aisle you’re on, the fatigue and disconnection is evident. We saw this in real time, when Made By Us held a mental health check-in with our online following in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting. The responses from that mostly Gen Z collection – young adults, a demographic with a reputation for persistent, passionate advocacy in the face of tough circumstances – revealed a grim mood.
So where can we turn for help, for hope? How can we support our fellow citizens, especially younger generations? When active, informed participation in our democracy seems urgently needed, yet daunting at the same time, where do we even begin?
We invite you to meet us at the starting line this summer, as part of an emerging tradition that serves as an antidote to hopelessness: the Civic Season.
We first held the Civic Season last year, as a way to use the time between Juneteenth and July 4 to school-up on our history and skill-up our civic activity, taking inspired action to shape the future we want for our country. Co-created by Gen Z leaders – alongside more than 300 cultural and civic organizations, from the Smithsonian and National Archives to local historical societies, governments and community groups – the Civic Season helps you explore what you stand for, with more than 750 credible resources, passionate communities and avenues to amplify your voice.
This summer, we’re excited to grow this new tradition, and we invite you to be a part of it. The 2022 Civic Season centers around a few pillars that are known to empower and equip active citizenship, as well as ward off hopelessness:
Connection. From feeling like you’re part of our nation’s story (you are!) to meeting new friends and neighbors, connection to others undergirds our democracy. It starts with knowing who we are and what we value – and then reaching out to others to learn and grow. The Civic Superpowers Quiz can help you identify your special skills and others who share them. The Storycorps collection invites you to hold a meaningful one-on-one conversation for the historic record. And the Civic Season Zine is the public square where all our experiences collide and refract.
Celebration. Forming a “more perfect union” is an ongoing journey, sustained by the everyday actions of everyday people. To revive our civic imagination and fight fatigue, it’s important to celebrate along the way. You can join the Civic Season Kickoff party at the headquarters in Atlanta, find a local celebration near you or tune into the livestream.
Knowledge. If we know better, we can do better. To shape a just and free society that lives up to the ideals in our founding documents, we have to understand “how we got here.” We’ve assembled hundreds of ways to learn and grow from credible history sources. Whether you have five minutes or a whole day, want something virtual or in-person, you cna find something that suits your preferences. You might try a virtual field trip, an ancestry workshop, or a book club.
Starting where you are, with what you have. No one can do it all – we each bring different strengths to the great American project. And the iconic Civic Season posters, created by the Globe Collection at MICA, prompt us each to reflect on what we stand for and how. You might find all the ways in which your everyday actions are already shaping our country, whether that’s listening to a friend, fact-checking your news, shopping local or painting a mural. Make your own here.
Democracy is more than elections. It’s a year-round civic and cultural practice up to each of us to sustain. Whether you find yourself passionate about gun control, health care, accessible curbs for people in wheelchairs, or wishing your neighborhood had more outdoor dining, affordable housing or welcoming events for immigrants – these are all civic issues that require our interest, knowledge and action.
Many, perhaps even most, of us want to be engaged citizens. It is rewarding to feel that you have a say in the direction of your country, and to activate that power; and it is frustrating to feel that you can’t make a difference in nudging the world a bit closer to your own values. Civic Season offers avenues to explore those values, critical context to understand yourself as part of your community/country/world, and paths to take action and be heard.
Come out this summer and join the momentum. Let us know what you find by sharing your experience using #CivicSeason. And be a part of shaping this tradition for years to come!
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a“ Steel Across America” event ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks on the Ellipse near the White House on Sept. 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C. President Trump welcomed 9/ 11 first responders to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation’ s“ Steel Across America” event featuring a 16,900- pound, 21- foot steel beam recovered.
For Trump, even 9/11 is an opportunity
There was a reason organizers of the 9/11 ceremony in Manhattan told President Trump he could not speak at this year’s memorial service.
A good one, it turns out.
Because in a speech he gave on Tuesday in Washington, he did exactly what they were presumably worried about — he made it about himself.
According to The New York Times, Trump had wanted a speaking role at the service, but the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum, which oversees the site, said no, as they’ve maintained for the past decade-plus that the venue and event should be nonpartisan.
Trump has long used awful tragedies to either puff himself up, trash political opponents, or sell lies to the American people.
He blamed a deadly plane crash at Washington National Airport last year on diversity, equity and inclusion policies. He blamed Puerto Ricans for the devastation they endured after Hurricane Maria in 2017. He reportedly considered withholding disaster relief after the California wildfires based on the way affected regions voted. In an interview on Fox News meant to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, he used the occasion to slam former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi…with graves of the dead behind him.
And now, as we approach the 25th anniversary of what many New Yorkers consider the darkest day in modern history, Trump has done it again.
He told a rambling, nonsensical story — one he’s told before — about going to Ground Zero just after terrorists flew two commercial jets into the twin towers. In the story, which no one has been able to verify, despite multiple attempts, he says firefighters had to carry him out of One Liberty Plaza, also known as the U.S. Steel Building, because they thought it was about to collapse.
As CNN fact checker Daniel Dale notes, there’s no evidence Trump went into this building, especially at a time when NYPD and NYFD had locked down the area. There’s no evidence that building was collapsing — in fact, it was deemed structurally sound and reopened within two months of the attacks. There’s no evidence he was carried out of it by firefighters.
But the lie isn’t even the worst part. Pretend it was all true — why would the leader of our country, and a New Yorker, decide to make that tragic day about himself?
Because that’s who Donald Trump is. He’s a malignant narcissist.
He’s also, incidentally, a terrible and ineffectual president, who’s made ill-fated decisions that he has to keep defending, and there’s nothing he won’t do to make himself look and feel better.
Within the first two minutes of his speech, he was cravenly using 9/11 to justify and promote his dumb war in Iran — two events separated by 25 years and 6,000 miles.
“And I will tell you, we’re right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon, they were very close to getting it, and now they have no chance at getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. And they’ve been punished greatly. As you know, we’ve really taken it to them.”
As a New Yorker who lived through 9/11, still one of the worst days of my life, I’m utterly sickened by Trump’s crass, political, and self-promotional framing of that awful day.
And I’m relieved he won’t be given a platform to do it again on Friday’s anniversary in lower Manhattan.
Because for Trump, everything is his for the taking, and absolutely nothing is sacred.
S.E. Cupp is the host of "S.E. Cupp Unfiltered" on CNN.