Small Group Reading Discussion Questions 1/26/23

Please get into groups of three and discuss the following questions about our readings:

1. So… IS the US a republic or democracy? Or both? Or some kind of hybrid? Explain your group’s thoughts.
2. How does looking at the US from these different perspectives change the way you might approach different communications? Come up with potential scenarios where this distinction might matter.
3. Do you buy into the idea of democracy in “crisis”? Why or why not?
4. If you do think democracy is eroding, how do you define that? Do you think it just has to do with the way we  are being governed? Is there a connection to the ways people participate in politics? In the way they civically engage in their communities?
5. How might some of what we discussed regarding civic imagination help begin to solve some of the problems brought up by the authors here?