There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves no matter how unpleasant are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn whatever steps we take they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go.
Talk of citizenship today is often thin and tinny. The word has a faintly old-fashioned feel to it when used in everyday conversation. When evoked in national politics it's usually accompanied by the shrill whine of a descending culture-war mortar.
