title: “1998 Election Outlook” ShowToc: true date: “2023-02-12” author: “Mary Fowler”
Gans attributes the steady decline in turnout to a prevailing cynicism with government that has been building since Vietnam. “The media looks for a hidden agenda in everything the government does, which projects a cynicism onto the electorate,” he said. In addition, “the malling of America, the decline of community, children being brought up in two-wage earner homes where parents don’t have the time or interest to vote, shifts in values to consumerism, a decline in the quality of education have all contributed to a shift away from civic responsibility.” However one interprets the numbers, America has hit a new low on several fronts.
