 | Rude Democracy: Civility and Incivility in American Politics Subjects: Courtesy -- Political aspects -- United States; Political culture -- United States; United States -- Politics and government -- 2009–; Calling civility "a complex notion," Herbst brings a philosopher's point-of-view to the examination of civility (and its inverse) in contemporary American politics. Civility and incivility can also reveal strategy, Herbst argues, and she revisits the historic 2008 presidential campaign to discuss Obama's use of the former, while illuminating how Sarah Palin employed the latter to further the hopes of the Republican presidential ticket (whether Palin's crowds were more murderous, slanderous, or prejudiced than Obama's is, according to the author, lost to history). She also examines political and religious civility on campus, focusing on universities in Georgia, where she is a professor, and concludes with a call for more civility in daily life. While few will disagree with her chief goal-to increase the intelligence and productivity of our debates through deep listening-it's hard to imagine her treatise having much of an impact on the polarized politicians who populate the hill-on either side of the aisle. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved. Susan Herbst is Professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, and Chief Academic Officer of The University System of Georgia. She is author of many books and articles on American politics including Numbered Voices: How Opinion Polling Has Shaped American Politics, Politics at the Margin , and Reading Public Opinion: Political Actors View the Democratic Process . Previously, she was acting president and Provost of the State University of New York at Albany, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Temple University, and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Northwestern University. |
