many of us feel resigned to helplessness as citizens. In a society that so inordinately emphasizes power, many of us feel we have little influence over conditions beyond our most immediate circumstances. We may see injustice and neglect or sense the sterility of mass culture. The quality of education, the organization of work, the anonymity of community life, all may distress us. But we frequently feel impotent to change these conditions. The choices we’re given often seem empty and hollow. Half of us don’t vote for president; even fewer elect local officials. We’re offered thirty brands of
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