David Whitman
David Whitman's provocative and pithy book identifies and examines "the most important and least comprehended aspect of public opinion" in America today -- the paradox of the "optimism gap." A vast majority of Americans are upbeat about their own lives and optimistic about their futures, yet most of these same citizens have exactly the opposite feeling about the country as a whole.The conflicted vision of American voters has profound implications at the national and local levels of government. People tend to exaggerate national problems and distrust the country's ability to solve them, while they understate problems in their own backyard and cannot be roused to address them. Both consequences breed complacency and a kind of paralysis in civic life. They also explain why so many seemingly popular initiatives, such as trimming the budget, reforming health care, and fixing schools are difficult to enact.,Through fascinating case studies that range from the courtyards of the Cabrini-Green housing project to file halls of Congress, Whitman punctures longstanding myth, both conservative and liberal, that stem from the optimism gap. By revealing us for what we believe, he offers invaluable insight into American public opinion and how to close the optimism gap. Nobody interested in -- or affected by -- how Americans mink about their country or feel about themselves can afford to miss this important book.
The Optimism Gap: The I'm Ok--They're Not Syndrome and the Myth of American Decline