The Death of Why?
The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy
By: Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Published: July 1, 2009
Format: Paperback: 200 pages
ISBN-10: 1576755851
ISBN-13: 978-1576755853
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
"Why is the first question most children ask. With this question we express, to the delight and the chagrin of our parents, our power" writes Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute Andrea Batista Schlesinger, in her important and thought provoking book The Death of Why?: The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy. The author believes there is a strong link between the asking of questions and of power in a properly functioning democracy. For citizens to exert their power, in the face of government and corporate power, is by asking the question Why? over and over again.
Andrea Batista Schlesinger considers that inquiry, and the asking of questions that demand full and honest answers, is crucial to democracy. She also believes inquiry to be a vital and essential part of good citizenship. The author recognizes that modern society is more concerned with finding answers, than in asking the right questions. From schools and their standardized tests, to the internet and its ubiquitous search engines, to personal finance and societal issues, the demand is for answers. Andrea Batista Schlesinger strongly asserts that inquiry based on questioning is more important for citizen empowerment.
Andrea Batista Schlesinger (photo left) understands the value of education for nurturing good citizens, who participate in democracy. At the same time, however, she thinks that the emphasis on the "three R's" and standardized tests are not developing the more important skills needed in a modern capitalist economy and a responsible democracy. The author points out that employers seek employees who are creative problem solvers, who can help to drive innovation. Her contention is that schools remove and even de-skill those abilities. Andrea Batista Schlesinger calls for more study of civics, where open debate and questioning of government, society, and the economy, will lead to a deeper understanding of the world in which we live.
For me, the power of the book is Andrea Batista Schlesinger's demonstration of the many and complex challenges facing citizens in a democratic society. Her analysis covers media concentration, deconstruction of daily news reports, standardized testing in schools, the educational curriculum and its shortcomings, and above all the need for citizens to participate in the democratic process through active inquiry. Moving far beyond simply casting a ballot on election day, the author makes a solid case for getting involved in local issues. That active participation develops better and more informed citizens, who are not afraid to ask difficult questions of their political leaders. Citizens must be encouraged to ask Why?
I highly recommend the brilliant and essential book The Death of Why?: The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy by Andrea Batista Schlesinger, to anyone seeking to move beyond group think, ideology, and even knowledge, toward a greater understanding of good citizenship. Regardless of the reader's political or ideological stance, the power of questioning is essential to all citizens in fulfilling their responsibility in society. The first step toward that goal, according to the author, is to return the study of civics to schools. The next step is to get involved in local issues through active inquiry.
Read the must read book The Death of Why?: The Decline of Questioning and the Future of Democracy by Andrea Batista Schlesinger, and take that first step toward more active involvement in society. The book is about citizen empowerment, through active questioning of those in positions of power. At the end of the book, the reader will be asking the question "Why?" at every opportunity, for the benefit and preservation of democracy.
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