The Power Elite

May not be too thrilled with the growing emergence of the dreaded non-voter.

Now a massive public opinion poll conducted in the U.S. shows that those traditional beliefs don't hold true any more – and the key differences in values in American society are much scarier than those between Democrat and Republican supporters. The poll was undertaken by the highly-respected polling company, Environics, and the results are published in a new book, American Backlash, written by the polling firm's Canadian president, Michael Adams.

The key finding of the poll, which surveyed more than 8,000 citizens in four waves from 1992 through 2004, is that the differences between Democrats and Republicans are small indeed compared with the gulf that divides those who vote and participate in the democratic process, and those who do not. The values divide gets even bigger when one looks at the values of the politically involved with the thousands of young adults who appear to have become so disenchanted by the political process that they are completely alienated from political activity in any form.

Perhaps more folks---especialy younger ones----may be declaring their independence from the modern establishment-dominated political process.