The Last Days of Democracy: How Big Media and Power-hungry Government Are Turning America into a Dictatorship (Paperback)

~ (Editor), Bruce W. Fraser (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School—This book has a lot to offer teens, major consumers of mass media. Its point of view is that the political far right and corporate ownership of the media deeply influence what we see, hear, and, ultimately, know. However, readers are expected to follow the authors' rhetoric without necessarily coming to it equipped with extensive background information. References to the U.S. Constitution, Aristotle, Marx, and so on are thrown in, but with explanations. The authors also provide a valuable service by discussing net neutrality, a subject anyone who uses the Internet needs to understand. The book is at its most timely and chilling when Plato's Cave is introduced and compared with the effects of modern mass media. The hyperbole is heavy and idioms like "tow the line" and "lockstep" are overused, but the book is alarming and informative. Some readers will be put off by the vitriolic language, while others will find their fears and anger confirmed. A list of alternative media outlets is appended.—Emma Coleman, Berkeley Public Library, CA
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Product Description

In this chilling account of an America in political and cultural decline, media critics Elliot D. Cohen and Bruce W. Fraser show how mainstream media corporations like CNN, Fox, and NBC (General Electric) together with giant telecoms like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T have become administration pawns in a well-organized effort to hijack America. Cohen and Fraser show in blunt terms how incredible power, control, and wealth have been amassed in the hands of an elite few while the rest of us have been systematically manipulated, deceived, and divested of our freedom. Calling attention to the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a carefully devised plan for international dominion launched by high officials in the Bush administration, this book tells the story of an America quietly being stripped of its democratic way of life on its way to becoming a full-blown authoritarian state.

The authors detail how mainstream media have failed us in covering issues crucial to the survival of American democracy--the Bush administration's domestic spying program; the facts about the September 11 attacks; presidential election fraud; the events leading up to the Iraq war; and the selling out of Internet freedom, to name just some. They reveal how corporate media have systematically attempted to dumb down and distract us from reality with sex and violence; how government has used corporate media to "shock and awe" Americans into surrendering their constitutional rights in the name of the "War on Terrorism"; and how media personalities have been complicit in the mass deception.

The final chapter points out important ways in which Americans can counter the erosion of democracy by relying less on mainstream media and more on independent news sources, through grassroots activism, peaceful assembly, and exercising their free speech, and by using critical thinking to expose the dangers we face.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 333 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books (May 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591025044
• ISBN-13: 978-1591025047
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #838,488 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Are We In the Last Days of Democracy?, June 15, 2007

By	Carol Hoenig (Long Island, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The following review was recently posted on the Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-hoenig/are-we-in-the-last-days-o_b_52123.html:



There are those who take umbrage with the suggestion that President Bush's tactics are comparable to Hitler's. Yet, Elliot D. Cohen and Bruce W. Fraser show the similarities between the two men in their recent book aptly titled, The Last Days of Democracy: How Big Media and Power-Hungry Government Are Turning America into a Dictatorship. The authors write, "In Nazi Germany, there was a systematic program of indoctrination and brainwashing in place. Radio, newspapers, movies, and all other forms of media were carefully monitored by the government to make sure that the German people read, saw, and listened to only what the Nazis wanted the people to read, see, and hear. There was also an officer of disinformation (a "minister of propaganda")--not unlike our own Karl Rove--whose job it was to make sure journalists toed the Nazi line."



Cohen and Fraser do not pull any punches: The index cross-references the president with the word dictatorship. Over the top? Well, let's see: If he behaves like a dictator and rules like a dictator, well then...the cross reference is justified. What is just as culpable, though, is the media allowing the President's actions to go unchecked.



The book is not a liberal attempt to bash a conservative president. Instead, it's a warning for all Americans, and the title says as much. The reader is reminded that the media has "become a docile lapdog of government" while "failing at keeping Americans informed." Unfortunately, it's a matter of preaching to the choir here on the Huffington Post, especially since the appendix includes this site as one of the few independent online news sources. However, one wonders if those who stay tuned to Fox News, CNN or any other corporate-owned news source realize that the bottom line is what determines "newsworthy" without having the public's interest in mind.



Just a few decades ago, how we got our news was radically different. This was all the more apparent when I was watching a recent documentary in honor of Walter Cronkite's 90th birthday. One moment in history that the program recalled was when Cronkite reported on CBS Evening News that there wasn't a role for U.S. troops in Vietnam anymore. Former President Lyndon Johnson responded, "That's the end of the war."



Often, Cronkite is praised for his journalistic integrity. How sad that he has to be an anomaly. Yet, reporters today should remember that it wasn't so much the man, but the message he carried that made the difference. After all, "that's the way it is" meant simply that, rather than, "that's the way we want it to be."



Now when the mainstream media reports from Afghanistan, Iraq, or anywhere around the world, including here in the United States, it is in cooperation with the government. How different it was when Cronkite was reporting to how it is now where reporters kowtow to the administration without questioning its actions. Americans have to work especially hard to get to the truth in order to make informed decisions. We have to educate ourselves to see the difference between propaganda and real news. The question is, are we willing to do so? Or will we surrender, like A.J. Soprano, because it's just easier to do so?



Many people are still talking about the last episode of The Sopranos. For me, the scene that had the most impact was when A.J., who had begun to take a political interest in the world around him, reverted to his apathetic state. Slouched once again on the couch in front of the TV, he laughed at footage of rappin' Rove dancing with David Gregory. Like A.J., many Americans find that it's easier being entertained rather than investing ambition.



The Last Days of Democracy is an unsettling albeit informative book. Instead of cowering in hopeless fear of "what if," it provides ways to combat what could be the inevitable. In other words, independent journalists must do the work the mainstream media has abandoned, since the authors caution, "Without a functioning media, there is no stopping government from divesting us of our freedom."

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for both high school and college-level debates , September 3, 2007

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

THE LAST DAYS OF DEMOCRACY: HOW BIG MEDIA AND POWER-HUNGRY GOVERNMENT ARE TURNING AMERICA INTO A DICTATORSHIP surveys how Constitutional promises and premises are being eroded by both private and federal special interests. The author is director of the Institute of Critical Thinking: his title charts events and places a call to action for any who value democratic ideals, and is perfect for both high school and college-level debates and collections strong in American political and social issues.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars for America's [...] and Staggering...Truth..., July 10, 2008

By	Mark Watterson "Author of Don't Weep for Me, ... - See all my reviews

American's should always applaud a book like this, speaking truth to power, the only purpose of which is to inform a duped public. But, of course, the public doesn't realize it's duped. While Plato's Cave is very relevant, there is a little too much time spent on the media itself. In addition to the mass suggestion of the government-controlled media, other techniques of subtle mind control are equally powerful, such as the establishment's rewriting of history (Oswald did it; Pearl Harbor was a suprise, etc.) and control of the language (surge, cut and run, if we don't fight them there we'll have to fight them here, etc). These tactics and George Orwell are emphasized in a similar book, Don't Weep for Me, America: How Democracy in America Became the Prince (While We Slept).

While people experience immediate "crimestop" at the word "dictatorship" to describe an American government, there simply is no better term for a political system where the president can execute signing statements (at will, to infinity). The ignorant public has no concept of this inherent subversion. Authors Cohen and Fraser do an excellent job explaining why dictatorship is a more appropriate term than democracy, and they are right on the money. They also provide great sources and analysis to support the stolen elections of the past several years (though they're very naive if they think a Gore presidency with neo-con handler, Joe Lieberman as Veep would have made any difference.

Their "illusion of freedom" sums it all up. That's what America has become in the 21st century.