The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators: American Society at the End of the Twentieth Century, Updated and Expanded: Bennett, William J.: 9780385499125: Amazon.com: Books
For decades Americans have turned to the Commerce Department's Index of Leading Economic Indicators to spot trends in the economy. The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators brings a similar kind of empirical analysis to the moral, social, and behavioral condition of American society from 1960 to the present--a vivid, clearly accessible portrait in numbers of who and where we are as a nation.
First published in 1994 and now completely updated and considerably expanded, it draws from a wide array of government sources and academic studies to offer comprehensive chapters on crime, the family, youth behavior, education, popular culture, and religion, as well as new chapters on civic participation, international comparisons, and decade-by-decade comparisons. For each topic covered, there are statistical and numerical breakdowns; tables and graphs; ranking of states; and a "Factual Overview" interpreting the data. The Index of Leading Cultural Indicators should serve as the starting point of any discussion about America's moral and cultural condition.
William J. Bennett's provocative introduction provides the essential context and perspective for the data he's collected, offering an assessment of the problems besetting modern America. Some have gotten better--most notably, crime and welfare rates--leading him to conclude that politics and public engagement in social issues can make more of a difference than he once thought. But there is much else of a worrying nature, and Bennett pulls no punches in identifying pathologies and laying out the challenges we face. No one who cares about American society and a whole range of social issues can afford to be without this essential volume--a statistical snapshot, an invaluable sourcebook, and a call to action.
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Bill Bennett has been compiling and publishing the Index of Cultural Indicators for several decades They are eye opening! You can trace the American cultural decline beginning in the early 1960s with several Supreme Court rulings, the Beatles, and the hippie movement. It is all downhill from there until now. These indicators will help you to understand where the rot began and why it continues. In my humble opinion, the trend toward a deviant Godless society is not going to reverse itself. Once evil is unleashed on a nation, it cannot be contained; it only gets worse. In the case of societies, past performance is definitely an indicator of future performance. Just like the decline of Rome and its eventual collapse, neither can America recover and again become the great nation it used to be. And there is one political party that is driving the societal bus over the cliff to its inevitable destruction and subsequent dictatorship of either socialism or Communism. It's not hard to see witch party that is. Examine the data, the charts and the graphs of the cultural indicators and see if you do not agree. Then buckle up and prepare yourself and your family for what's coming. It will be ugly.
This book looks back at thirty years of cultural movement in the United States. Bennett provides a great overview, as well as more fully developed discussion, on critical areas of health, or un-health as the case may be, of our nation's culture. Great annotation. Definately a must for the reference shelves of thinking Americans.
The report is excellent. I was disappointed, however, that the figures were not updated to include the last 14 years, during which the pace of change has accelerated. It would be great if the numbers could be brought up to date.