The president should appoint, and the Congress confirm, a highly visible Federal Commission on Citizenship to prepare the people of the United States to exercise their civic responsibilities for the 21st century. The commission, with members from every state, should be charged with a broad mandate to recommend basic reforms in our political processes and institutions and to stimulate widespread public participation in the nation’s civic affairs. Its focus should be local as well as national … Its recommendations for involvement and reform should be designed specifically to be suitable for the telecommunications age.
Predictor: Grossman, Lawrence K.
Prediction, in context:In his 1995 book “The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in the Information Age,” Lawrence Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, writes: ”The president should appoint, and the Congress confirm, a highly visible Federal Commission on Citizenship to prepare the people of the United States to exercise their civic responsibilities for the 21st century. The commission, with members from every state, should be charged with a broad mandate to recommend basic reforms in our political processes and institutions and to stimulate widespread public participation in the nation’s civic affairs. Its focus should be local as well as national. Funds for the commission’s work should come from both public and private sectors … Looking toward the electronic republic in the 21st century, the United States would do well to model its Federal Commission on Citizenship on the ancient Athenian Council of 500 … For the Federal Citizenship Commission, task force teams should be organized to examine every current political institution and process, including the parties, election financing, initiatives and referenda, civic education, information dissemination, and voting. Its recommendations for involvement and reform should be designed specifically to be suitable for the telecommunications age.”
Biography:Lawrence Grossman wrote the book “The Electronic Republic: Reshaping Democracy in an Information Age” (Penguin, 1995). The former executive at NBC and PBS urged people to realize that digital communications had altered how things can and should be done. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: Democracy
Name of publication: The Electronic Republic (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Chapter 10: Nongovernmental and Other Reforms
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 243, 244
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne