American Insomniac: Reflections on the future of a dying democracy is a compilation of academic articles, blog pieces, other writings, and op-eds written during the first years of the twenty-first century about current political, economic, cultural, and social events which are shaping our reality. The author, Jim Smith, has a unique perspective stemming from his childhood experiences of growing up on the carnival, living in a rural area, experiencing poverty and homelessness, and then radicalization through the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960's and 1970's.
The writings are about the great challenges facing the future of democracy, the struggle for equality and equity, and will, hopefully, add to a civil discourse on the solutions to the social, economic, and cultural problems that are interwoven within the times we live in. These issues and concerns have kept thinking people awake at night trying to figure out how we got here, how to reach a consensus for solutions for the common good, and how to protect the gains made in the prior century from the forces at work to deconstruct and destroy them currently. Hence the title, American Insomniac.
The problems and challenges are complex. The forces at work on all sides are equally complex, with intentions that are both noble and immoral. No perspective is purely evil or purely altruistic. But there is still truth, facts, and progress to oppose lies, fiction, and barbarism. This is one person's attempt to add to this conversation.