Synopses & Reviews
Levees break in New Orleans. Iraq descends into chaos. The housing market teeters on the brink of collapse. Americans of all political stripes are heading into the 2008 election with the sense that something has gone terribly wrong with American politics. But what exactly? Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats. Greedy corporate executives, rogue journalists, faulty voting machines, irresponsible defense contractors-we blame them, too. The only thing everyone seems to agree on, in fact, is that the American people are entirely blameless, In Just How Stupid Are We?, best-selling historian and renowned myth-buster Rick Shenkman takes aim at our great national piety: the wisdom of the American people. The hard truth is that American democracy is more direct than ever-but voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. Americans are paying less and less attention to politics at a time when they need to pay much more: Television has dumbed politics down to the basest possible level, while the real workings of politics have become vastly more complicated. Shenkman offers concrete proposals for reforming our institutions-the government, the media, civic organizations, political parties-to make them work better for the American people. But first, Shenkman argues, we must reform ourselves.
Synopsis
Best-selling author Rick Shenkman takes aim at our great national piety: the wisdom of the American people
Synopsis
Bestselling historian Shenkman takes aim at the great national piety: the wisdom of the American people. He writes that American voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power.
Synopsis
Fifty percent of Americans can name four characters from The Simpsons,” but only two out of five can name all three branches of the federal government. No more than one in seven can find Iraq on a map. Just how stupid are we? Pretty stupid.
In Just How Stupid Are We?, best-selling author Rick Shenkman takes aim at our great national piety: the wisdom of the American people. American democracy is as direct as its ever beenbut voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. At once a powerful indictment of voter apathy and political indifference, Just How Stupid Are We? also provides concrete proposals for reforming our institutionsthe government, the media, civic organizations, political partiesto make them work better for the American people. But first, Shenkman argues, we must reform ourselves.
About the Author
Rick Shenkman is the editor and founder of the History News Network and Associate Professor of History at George Mason University.
New York Times best-selling author of five history books, including
Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History, he appears regularly as a commentator on Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. Educated at Vassar and Harvard, Shenkman is an award-winning investigative reporter and the former managing editor of KIRO-TV, the CBS affiliate in Seattle. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
http://howstupidblog.com