"Since the public no longer participates in debates on national issues, it has no reason to inform itself about civic affairs. It is the decay of public debate, not the school system (bad as it is), that makes the public ill informed, notwithstanding the wonders of the age of information. When debate becomes a lost art, information, even though it may be readily available, makes no impression."

Learn more about

• Lasch's view of democracy:
  http://car.owu.edu/Vol. 4 No. 4.htm
• Presidential debates:
  http://www.debates.org/index.html