![[what I read in 2002]](/images/review_banner.gif)
Why Americans Hate Politics ::
One of the core topics in this book is the way in which American politics fails to deal with the complexity of public opinion. Whereas most people do not see themselves as strictly Liberal or Conservative, Democrat or Republican, political leaders tend to view them as one or the other. Whereas people wish to embracesocial progress and fiscal responsibility within their government, they are mostly made to choose between one or the other. Public emotions about everything from budgets to race and gender equality are are complicated and nuanced, and Dionne notes:
The trouble with American politics lies in its failure to allow these complicated feelings to express themselves. As a result, substantial numbers of Americans see the political conversation as too polarized, too remote from their concerns, too caught up in the false “consitituencies” that are seen only by the political, cultural, and economic elites... The current revolt against politics is the mainstream’s rebellion against this false polarization.
I had a series of small revelations as I read this book, and one of them occurred when I read the above passage. By the time I finished the book, I felt I had a new understanding of modern politics in the United States. I learned what it meant to be a part of a system of false choices, and I was able to see why, exactly, I found it so difficult to vote in the 2000 Presidential election.
What is most disconcerting about the state of politics, however, also provides some amount of hope. The fact that our political system does not have to be this way, that there is no reason why politics has to be as divisive and polemic and plainly false as it is is rather disturbing. It makes me wonder how, exactly we got into this situation, and it makes me wonder whether it is symptomatic of a slow degeneration of the system. But looked at in a more hopeful light, this dire situation can be seen as temporal, as ready for change; it’s an issue of getting the current leaders to listen, and to advocate for a more responsive government that has an insterest in leading its constituencies, rather than dividing it up. Of course, making those changes takes a lot of work, and and the public needs to be more informed on the shortcomings of the current system, and what sort of other choices are out there. While this book doesn’t provide all of that information, it is about the best possible place to start looking for it.
« top »