The first few chapters were interesting, nay, shocking in their statistics as they outlined the scope of America's stupidity. A whole lot of hand wringing and anecdotal remarks mixed in with some actual data. The entire book reads like a series of blog posts, of the caliber you'd find on one of the A list political blogs like TPM. (and a little mass hysteria) The book is right on target - I just don't like how the author talked it through. I generally agree with the majority of the book - Americans haven't a clue about civics and they can be led by the nose by smart politicians and mass media. I'm not saying this because the book says I'm stupid. But first, Shenkman argues, we must reform ourselves. 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. 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. The hard truth is that American democracy is more direct than ever-but voters are misusing, abusing, and abdicating their political power. 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 only thing everyone seems to agree on, in fact, is that the American people are entirely blameless. Greedy corporate executives, rogue journalists, faulty voting machines, irresponsible defense contractors-we blame them, too. But what exactly? Democrats blame Republicans and Republicans blame Democrats. Americans of all political stripes are heading into the 2008 election with the sense that something has gone terribly wrong with American politics. The housing market teeters on the brink of collapse.
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