Bye Bye to Democracy?
I can’t even believe I feel a need to write about this, or that other people aren’t seeing it. Maybe I’m just imagining all this, but sometimes I watch a public debate and just can’t believe how basic fundamental facts and ideals aren’t even part of the conversation. Recent surveys show alarmingly low support amongst millennials for democracy. Yes, that democracy. Here, in the birthplace of modern democracy, government by the people, for the people, is fading away. There’s nary a shrug from those very people who have both benefited from democracy, and whose duty it is to carry it into the next century and beyond. Closely related, a lot of millennials also say they have no confidence in democracy’s ability to solve problems or improve their lives . It’s not that they dislike or have a particular issue with democracy -- it just that they don’t see its usefulness anymore. And growing up in a period of hyper-partisan gridlock, you can sort of understand that view. Bu...