Hi, this is Katio Rogers, executive producer of On the Media.

This holiday week, we're featuring a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy.

This mini-series is part of a month-long campaign called The Purple Project for Democracy, a strictly non-partisan apolitical effort.

Our very own Bob Garfield is one of the Purple Project organizers.

We recommend that you listen to this series In Order.

This is episode one, in which Bob explores whether our form of government truly is up for grabs.

Democracy is in trouble, not necessarily because of our current political mayhem,

or even because of the accumulated sins and failures of American society, but because vast

swaths of the public are giving up on the system that has governed us for 243 years.

Here are some alarming data points.

1. In 2018, only 33% of the general population expressed trust for government.

2. In another survey among 1,400 adults asked about the importance of democracy,

only 39% of younger participants said

absolutely important. Three, in a 2018 Democracy Fund survey of 5,000 Americans, 24% of respondents

expressed support for a strong leader who doesn't have to bother with Congress or elections,

and 18% for army rule. Of course, 18% of Americans believe in alien abductions, and there

is still overriding majority support for democracy across all polling, but the expressions of disaffection

are growing and the metrics of trust are plummeting.

The question is, what as a society we are to do about it and who exactly will be doing

the doing?

Will it be the schools?

Will it be civil society? Will it be membership and fraternal

...