The Death of Why? The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy

by Schlesinger, Andrea Batista

• ISBN13: 9781576755853
• ISBN10: 1576755851
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-26
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Summary

Trends among today's youth suggest a serious deficiency in the ability to ask questions, which is a crucial skill. The number of young people who follow current events is at an all-time low. About a third of those younger than 25 (34%) say they get no news on a typical day, up from 25% in 1998. Online social networking sites make it easy for young people to be connected but not engaged. This technology can be harnessed to create an informed citizenry that participates in its democratic processes -- if we recognize its potential and act accordingly. The future is a moving target, and it will require a populace that can tackle tomorrow's challenges with critical, thoughtful engagement. In this book, Batista Schlesinger offers both a penetrating socio-cultural critique of our current path and a way forward for cultivating inquiry among our youngest generation.

Author Biography

Since 2002, Andrea Batista Schlesinger has applied her background in public policy, politics, and communications to lead the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact. During Andrea’s tenure as executive director, DMI has released several important policy papers to national audiences; created its Marketplace of Ideas series, which highlights successful progressive policies from across the country; launched two policy blogs that reach several thousand readers each day; and launched a national program to foster careers in policy for college students from underrepresented communities.
In 2009, Andrea took a leave of absence from DMI to serve as a senior policy advisor to the re-election campaign of New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.
Andrea studied public policy at the University of Chicago. Before joining DMI, she directed a national Pew Charitable Trusts campaign to engage college students in discussion about the future of Social Security and served as the education advisor to Bronx borough president and mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer. She has been profiled in the New York Tmes, The New Yorker, and Latina magazine, and in Hear Us Now, an award-winning documentary about her tenure as the student member of New York City’s Board of Education.
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In media outlets from National Public Radio to the Huffington Post, Andrea is turned to for her forward-thinking analysis on America’s greatest challenges. She has appeared on television shows such as CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, and her writing has appeared in various publications, including The Nation, Newsday, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Mississippi Sun Herald, the New York Daily News, Alternet.com, TomPaine.com, the New York Sun, Colorlines magazine, the Chief-Leader, and City Limits magazine.
Andrea was named a Forty Under 40 Rising Star by Crain’s New York Business. She serves on the editorial board of The Nation. She grew up in Brooklyn and lives in Queens.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Questions and Power	p. 1
Culture: Questions or Answers?	p. 11
Inquiry Is Risky, Resilience Is the Reward, and Other Lessons from Childhood	p. 19
Ideological Segregation by Click and by Clique	p. 26
Consuming Opinion	p. 43
In Google We Trust	p. 57
Schools: Citizens or Consumers?	p. 75
The Three Rs and a Why	p. 85
No Piggy Bank Left Behind	p. 103
Questioning the System, or Beating It?	p. 119
The Marxist, Anti-American Conspiracy to Convert Young People to Engaged Citizenship	p. 135
Politics: Engaged or Connected?	p. 147
Black and White and Dead All Over	p. 155
Who's Afraid of Virginia Youth?	p. 173
Lights, Camera, Debate!	p. 190
Conclusion: A Call for Slow Democracy	p. 206
Notes	p. 217
Acknowledgments	p. 244
Index	p. 247
About the Author	p. 253
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