ABSTRACT
American politics is an especially dynamic people-oriented activity. There are countless avenues for connecting the people to their government, from public opinion polls to interest groups to campaigns for public office. In fact, the avenues for political participation in American politics seem to be growing at an enormous rate with recent developments such as local access cable television, electronic mail, and of course the Internet. Political socialization finally has a powerful set of tools in the world of television, the Internet, talk radio, and all the other elements that are part of our media-driven culture. Finally, the youth of America have been brought up in a culture of individualism, in which concepts such as civic duty and popular participation for the common good have been overshadowed by the constant cry of "what's in it for me".
