Richard Shenkman

Historian and author Richard Shenkman talked about his book Just How Stupid Are We?: Facing the Truth About the American Voter (Basic Books; June 9, 2008). Professor Shenkman argues that as American voters have gained more political power than ever before in the last 50 years, they are not exercising their power wisely and are more and more susceptible to campaign slogans and easy solutions because they do not take the time to educate themselves about the issues and the candidates. He provides such statistics as that most Americans can not name their representatives in Congress or even know that there are three branches of government. He talked about how politicians have repeatedly misled voters and the dumbing down of American politics via marketing, spin machines, and misinformation. He urged reinvigorating civic responsibility in an era where people are more consumers than citizens and providing people with the leadership to efficaciously participate in the political process. close