American Teen Reactionaries

Saw this BBC article and thought that it sort of links into what I was saying about teen rebellion. Maybe conservatism is the new rebellion...or is being reactionary now cooler than being a liberal? I dont know.
Maybe something strange is going on.  I'll keep digging.

Comments

[Catherine]

Utterly frightening. Can I come live in England please?

[Jeff]

Hmmm... I'm always very suspect of surveys. The way the questions are worded, the context--it all matters, and I'm always frustrated that I never get to see this information along with the results. Further, when I do see the info, I always feel like the questions are imprecisely worded. But, be all that as it may, I also have to confess that I would EXPECT high school students to be a bit ignorant, or unclear, or indifferent. University students, however, who are typically the folks who really stir things up, probably are aware of the importance of the 1st amendment and care far more deeply about it. One other thought: with the Internet, there are now so many more avenues for people to take on the status quo than there were before; gone are the days when it always happened with marches, etc. More important, the Internet has empowered a lot of people, not everyone, but a lot, and perhaps this democratization of information and the ability to participate has simply given people a better outlet than yelling in the streets.

[mark fallows]

appreciaate what you are saying about the high school students vs Uni students and like you i also like to see recruitment data and sample details before drawing conclusions. I also agree with the notion that the Internet empowers people to find new means to express their opinions. But this survey worries me because of what it suggests about young peoples' underlying perceptions about democratic rights. From a personal perspective I would hope high school students would be a little protective of them regardless of class creed or ethnic background.