Twenty-first-century America isn't working the way it's supposed to. This book explains why. Americans in the twenty-first century are becoming increasingly untethered from both reality and the essential principles and traditions that have shaped the nation's historic success. A big part of why America isn't working is because far too many Americans neither know nor care how it's supposed to work. 'William Cooper presents an insightful, sensitive, and accessible account of the trials that face American democracy in the twenty-first century. This fair- and broad-minded volume makes compelling reading for those who are looking to build a better democracy.' Alexander Yen, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford 'Partisanship fuels personal convictions more than ever in our society, and convictions fuel mysided thinking and other cognitive biases. At no time have we needed this discussion of bias and partisan thinking more than now.' Keith E. Stanovich,