Showing results for "Brilliance" in Civics & Citizenship

The United States - the world's great bastion of freedom - is sliding toward socialism. High-profile bailouts and a stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, health care, financial markets, real estate, businesses, and religion. And as out-of-control government spending and debt increase, America is drained of the economic and political strength its people fought for and worked so hard to achieve.

What does it mean to be a millennial in this chaotic world? Beyond Snapchat and Tinder, the consumerist culture we’ve inherited, and quarter-life crises, can a millennial aspire to more? Alison Lea Sher argues, yes, we can! Packing herself up in an RV, Sher embarks on a road trip, interviewing 150 of her millennial peers as they begin their adult lives. From kids heading straight to Wall Street after college, to those sleeping on it, Sher asks: “Who are you; what should you do; and how can you step into your destiny as a stakeholder in society?”

Virtual Country examines the current nexus of technology and western democracy, pointing to a historical opportunity for We the People to evolve our democracy to include a new public institution that enables a coherent, collective voice on the issues that affect us all. The book's centerpiece is a proposal for a new online institution for citizen reengagement - the National Town Square. The Square would be a transparent, citizen-led, noncorporate, nongovernmental, nonpartisan online venue for individual advisory voting, moderated discussion, and more.

The majority of Americans are far closer in values than the ideological opinion-shapers lead us to believe. This book asks how we can restore the civic unity that our political elites have worked for years to dismantle.