Democracy Inaction: How Citizen Apathy Threatens America and What We Can Do about It (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798900260334)

AMERICAN DEMOCRACY SEEMS TO BE AT A CROSSROADS. Many Americans have simply given up on politics. They've become apathetic--they just don't care. And, honestly, who can blame them? In a world of hyper-polarization and elite-centric political discourse, the average American feels pushed out, so they stop caring. This is discouraging because America's system of government is designed to be, as President Abraham Lincoln famously said, "of the people, by the people, [and] for the people." Government that is of, by, and for the people requires action of, by, and for the people.

Democracy InAction documents the effects of apathy on civic participation. More importantly, it reminds readers that America and her future belong to them and encourages them to participate in the civic life of their communities and country.

Loaded with original survey data and rigorous analysis, this book tells a story of civic engagement in decline. The larger purpose, though, is to solve the problem by encouraging citizens to participate. Designed to reach an audience of everyday Americans--both engaged and unengaged--as well as policymakers, students, and scholars, Democracy InAction brings an educator's approach to document reasons why civic engagement is important in order to influence the reader to do their part. The encouragement provided is intended to overcome apathy--to get the reader to care--and to remedy alienation, to remind the reader that this is their country too. It is also designed to spur policymakers to action by encouraging them to do their part to increase civic participation.

Taylor aims to make democracy work for all of us by reminding readers that it takes all of us to make democracy work.