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A review by mkesten
#republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media by Cass R. Sunstein
3.0
I like to joke with my Facebook friends that future generations will not appreciate the catastrophe that is the Trump presidency until somebody makes a musical of it. Something like a cross between Phantom of the Opera and Evita. People shouldn't forget that America is a very advanced nation, and the boldest experiment in democracy since the Magna Carta. Cass Sunstein in "#republic" points the spotlight on a very real threat to the American Republic: the tendency of communications services to fragment the audience to the point where literally nobody is talking -- or more importantly -- listening to one another.
And Sunstein puts it so aptly, the continuity of American self-government will have less to do with "the decisions of its founders much less on the world of texts and authorities and ancestors than in the active participation and commitments of its citizens."
There is so much BS in American letters about the founding tenents of the Republic and so little compromise on the floor of the House of Representatives or the Senate. And the populace lets their leaders get away with it. Nothing, it seems, is more important in American society today than winning at all costs.
People live in the enclaves of their electronic worlds. They live and die by free speech, where speech is neither free nor without consequences. Just look at the appalling power of their firearms lobby.
Freedoms devoid of responsibilities.
The responsibility to take care of the citizenry.
The responsibility to care for the planet.
The responsibility to participate as a good citizen on the world stage.
The responsibility to address historical grievances.
This book is good learned debate even as people kvetch about the"eastern elites." Too much Trumpism debases and demeans learned debate. America has such terrific minds at work. Well, if they pack up and leave out of frustration, I hope they come to Canada.
We could use them.
And Sunstein puts it so aptly, the continuity of American self-government will have less to do with "the decisions of its founders much less on the world of texts and authorities and ancestors than in the active participation and commitments of its citizens."
There is so much BS in American letters about the founding tenents of the Republic and so little compromise on the floor of the House of Representatives or the Senate. And the populace lets their leaders get away with it. Nothing, it seems, is more important in American society today than winning at all costs.
People live in the enclaves of their electronic worlds. They live and die by free speech, where speech is neither free nor without consequences. Just look at the appalling power of their firearms lobby.
Freedoms devoid of responsibilities.
The responsibility to take care of the citizenry.
The responsibility to care for the planet.
The responsibility to participate as a good citizen on the world stage.
The responsibility to address historical grievances.
This book is good learned debate even as people kvetch about the"eastern elites." Too much Trumpism debases and demeans learned debate. America has such terrific minds at work. Well, if they pack up and leave out of frustration, I hope they come to Canada.
We could use them.