{"product_id":"9781450058353","title":"Generation Right: THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE IN THE AGE OF OBAMA","description":"GENERATION RIGHT: THE YOUNG CONSERVATIVE IN THE AGE OF OBAMA by DAN JOSEPH Generation Right: The Young Conservative in the Age of Obama is a guide for young conservatives who feel powerless and overwhelmed by the dominance of liberal thought among members of their generation but is also written for people of any age who are interested in politics and want to learn more about the current political landscape. The opening sections cover the overwhelming rush of American young people toward Barack Obama ™s 2008 campaign and the predilections of today ™s young people that tend to steer them away from the conservative point of view. It next treats the ongoing political indoctrination of young people by overwhelmingly liberal institutions and the use of the Internet and new technology as weapons in the political arsenal. Finally, it gives readers a primer on how to debate, discuss, and bring conservative ideas to others who might not otherwise be exposed to them. Whether in the classroom or in a more casual setting, this type of casual activism is where conservative philosophy must make inroads in order to receive notice from Generation Y. Part I   Obama and the Seductive Power of Liberalism.   This section explains how the 2008 Obama campaign targeted and captured Americans under the age of 30, many of them with little if any knowledge of politics or current issues. Using a vague but seductive platform along with the discontent caused by recent perceived failures of government the campaign appealed directly to the hearts of Generation Y and their world view. This section shows how liberalism ™s simplistic and superficial explanations of complex issues appeal to young people while conservatism ™s more complex and nuanced approaches are a much more difficult sell given today ™s short attention spans. The book discusses how peer pressure and the desire to belong brought young people into the liberal fold and how popular culture including the explosion of reality television were utilized by the Obama campaign to alter perceptions of politics and the election process. Finally, the section discusses the role of race and racial guilt common among Generation Y and how it brought new voters to the Obama campaign. Part II   How Conservatives Lost the Youth Vote.   Young people have not always voted Democratic and certainly not in such substantial numbers. However, in 2008, the dominant point of view of Generation Y on certain key wedge issues slammed head-on into the view on these same issues held by a large segment of the Republican base. The conflict which had been inevitable was disastrous for Republicans. This section explains how on the key wedge issues such as abortion, gay rights, the environment positions strongly held by large segments of the Republican base are diametrically opposed to cherished and long-ingrained opinions of the majority of Americans under the age of 30. In addition, a steady stream of misinformation about the Iraq war from liberal institutions caught up many young people in a desire to recreate the idealized flower power era of the 1960s and influenced their votes. Part III   Indoctrination.   There can be no question that today ™s primary lifetime influences on people under the age of 30 are academia and Hollywood and the entertainment industry. These overwhelming liberal institutions have superseded parents and organized religion as forces in the lives of young people. This section demonstrates how the liberal political agenda is continuously promoted and force-fed to unsuspecting young people and shows how this indoctrination has impacted the American body politic. Beginning during early elementary education and reaching a fever pitch on college campuses, easily influenced young people are   taught   sometimes with subtlety, sometimes not that liberal positions on issues like the environment, foreign policy, race, and the economy are correct and that conservative positions are destructive and reprehensible. Hollywood, television, and the music industry provide the same kind of political slant masked as entertainment, often making the conservative viewpoint the object of ridicule. This lifetime of indoctrination provides an additional hurdle for conservatives hoping to recapture the youth vote. Part IV   The Battle for Internet Supremacy.   The Obama campaign recognized that by 2008, the Internet and its many networking tools had become part of the fabric of daily life for young people. The campaign masterfully seized upon this fact to use interactive websites, social networking tools like Facebook, and new media providers like YouTube to create a viral campaign that reached young people directly. This section shows how an understanding of the power of Facebook as a political tool brought thousands of young voters into the Obama fold and how utilization of YouTube to disseminate campaign information spread the message in a way that the old media never could to this age group. Finally, the section shows how Republicans can reverse this trend and use the Internet and the blogosphere as powerful tools to educate young people about our point of view and regain their votes. Part V   Casual Activism.   This section is both a call to arms to young conservatives to join the political process and a manual for engaging in effective and persuasive debate with liberal counterparts. It describes techniques for debate in social settings or classrooms and how effective use of these techniques can win converts to the conservative cause. The section goes on to describe how young people can obtain the facts and background necessary to become effective debaters.","brand":"Xlibris Corporation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47154799018224,"sku":"9781450058353","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781450058353_p0.jpg?v=1763832178","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781450058353","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}