Flake: Challenges Are Best Met Through Collective Effort

Lawrenceville hosted former U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who more recently served as the ambassador to Türkiye, during Winter Gathering in late January. Flake, who served a single term in the Senate after being elected six times to the U.S. House of Representatives, spoke to students at School Meeting and later, to parents. Across both talks, Flake emphasized a shared theme: Democracy depends not on division, but on trust, cooperation, and moral courage. He and his wife, Cheryl Bae Flake, also visited a History of the American Democracy class and attended a  campus dinner to meet students and faculty.

Flake framed his remarks around a central idea: that the greatest challenges facing the country are best met through collective effort. Speaking to students, he emphasized that history offers reassurance.

“The key is that we’ve always faced these challenges together as a country,” Flake said, “through bipartisanship, through civil discourse, and by finding common ground.”

He described democracy as a system that asks people to listen to those they disagree with, to accept electoral outcomes they don’t prefer, and to grant legitimacy to political opponents.

“Trust is the currency that makes democratic systems function,” he said. Unlike rhetoric or ideology, trust is built slowly through consistent conduct and decency, he added.

To both audiences, Flake emphasized moral courage and the willingness to speak honestly, accept political consequences, and uphold principles even when doing so is unpopular.

“Self-government is not a spectator sport,” Flake said, urging students to be thoughtful about how they engage with political ideas, consume information, and treat those who hold different views.

Expressing confidence in younger generations to both students and their parents, Flake told them that he often sees more openness to diverse perspectives among young people than among adults.

“We are not meant to live alone,” he said. “Democracy has to be the same. It’s not about standing alone; it’s about standing together, imperfectly, patiently, responsibly.”

Flake concluded by encouraging students and parents alike to choose grace over grievance and to practice civil discourse not as a slogan, but as a daily habit.

Students said Flake’s remarks prompted reflection not only on national politics, but also on their own roles as listeners, leaders, and citizens.

“He has a genuine affection for reconciliation despite disagreement,” said Willem Anton ’26. “He exemplifies a trait that makes me find people likable: He is willing to distinguish his opinions from facts.”

Brook Bartlett ’26 appreciated Flake’s anecdotes from Capitol Hill, which she said brought texture to the people behind the elected offices.

“I particularly enjoyed hearing about Ambassador Flake’s close relationships with colleagues on both sides of the aisle,” she said. “He humanized our legislature and showed that bipartisan cooperation remains both possible and essential.”