“Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
With that message, the 66th U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, challenged those gathered at Auburn University’s Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center on March 30 to consider their role in sustaining American democracy during a wide-ranging conversation with political commentator and author Margaret Hoover.
The discussion kicked off Auburn’s Democracy in Dialogue Signature Speaker Series, part of the university’s programming commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Introduced this semester, the series is designed to create opportunities for reflection and conversation across campus as the nation approaches its semiquincentennial. Auburn President Christopher B. Roberts noted Monday’s talk is one of several opportunities the campus is fostering “to reflect on the ideas that shaped our nation and to consider the responsibility each generation shares in sustaining them.”
Referencing Rice’s many roles in public service across different presidential administrations, Hoover guided the conversation through topics that ranged from the nation’s founding principles to the considerable civic responsibilities facing the next generation. Together, the two discussed how democratic institutions endure and why they continue to matter today, questions that each of them has explored through their leadership roles and shared commitment to the Hoover Institution.
Drawing on her decades of experience in public service and higher education, Rice reflected on pivotal moments that shaped her understanding of leadership and democratic governance. Her remarks moved from the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, including the Romanian Revolution of 1989, to the United States’ response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, during her time serving as National Security Advisor. Those experiences, she said, reinforced the key lesson that democratic systems endure because they offer societies ways to resolve conflict peacefully and adapt over time.
“Without institutions, unrestricted freedom means that, eventually, our rights are going to clash,” Rice noted. “But institutions instead offer ways to resolve those conflicts through the courts instead of through violence.”
Democracy, she added, depends on more than courts, elections and constitutions. It also relies on the everyday civic spirit of citizens working together in their communities. “The strength of democracy lies in the civic frameworks that bring people together to serve their communities,” Rice said, noting that a culture of volunteerism and service forms the strongest foundation of democracy.
Throughout the evening, Hoover, a noted journalist, author and host of PBS’s Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, steered the discussion across a wide range of issues, including global democratic trends, technological changes, such as artificial intelligence, and the role universities play in shaping the next generation of civic leaders.
Rice, who served as provost at Stanford University from 1993 to 1996, spoke at length about the unique role higher education plays in fostering democratic life. Universities, she added, are not just places where knowledge is produced. Rather, they are places where students encounter new ideas and perspectives
Describing universities as engines of innovation, Rice offered they are also places where students encounter differing perspectives and learn to engage thoughtfully with ideas that challenge their assumptions. That exchange, she argued, remains central to a healthy democracy. If democratic systems are to endure and improve, she told students in the audience, they must take part in sustaining them.
“Find the one thing you can do to make your democracy stronger and go out and do it,” she added. “It’s yours to keep.”
Rice’s message about their civic responsibility struck a personal chord for many students in the audience, including Buckley Nettles, a senior graduating in communication in May.
“Having the opportunity to hear from Secretary Rice and Margaret Hoover was an unforgettable experience,” Nettles said. “I left feeling inspired that college students like me have a responsibility to participate in democracy and help move it forward.”
As the evening drew to a close, Hoover concluded with a rapid-fire round of questions. Asked whether playing golf or the piano required more discipline, Rice indicated the piano demands greater commitment, particularly given her own golf game. When Hoover asked whether she was recognized more often on Stanford’s campus or at Denver Broncos games, Rice, who has been part of the ownership group of the NFL franchise since 2022, observed that while students may recognize her name, “mostly they just want to get into my class.”
The exchange brought the conversation to a close after an evening focused on democratic institutions and the responsibilities of citizenship. Rice left the audience with a final message to find their own ways to strengthen democracy, reminding them that its future depends on the willingness of each generation to sustain it.
Former SGA President Owen Beaverstock, who will also graduate next month with a degree in political science, offered final reflections on the importance of civic dialogue and participation.
“Events like tonight remind us how much dialogue matters, how much ideas matter, and that the future of our country is shaped by our willingness to participate in it.”
For more information on Auburn’s semiquincentennial programs and speakers, visit America 250 at Auburn University.
Photo by Nathaly Norman Photography
