The Angry American: How Voter Rage Is Changing The Nation (Dilemmas in American Politics)

The Contract with America. The Oklahoma City bombing. Rave receptions for the likes of Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy. The budget shutdown in Washington. The Million Man March. Isolated events, or is there some connecting thread? Susan Tolchin says it’s anger—mainstream, inclusive, legitimate public anger—and it’s not going to vanish until we as a polity acknowledge it and harness its power.How to tap into this pervasive political anger and release its creative energy without being swept away by its force is the dilemma of the 1990s for government leaders and citizens alike. This timely volume outlines the history, causes, and consequences of anger in American politics today and embraces positive solutions to problems we are all entitled to be angry about: economic uncertainty, cultural divisiveness, political disintegration, and a world changing faster than our ability to assimilate. Tolchin’s solutions incorporate a renewed sense of community, enhanced political access, and responsive rather than reactive government.