The Participation Blog

And On the Bright Side

People who deal with tough public policy, stakeholder conflicts and upset people much of the time can become jaded, skeptical and even cynical about working with the public. You begin to wonder if people are truly as unreasonable and crazy as broadcast, cable and social media news coverage makes them appear to be. The answer actually seems to be no, if you put any stock into the latest from Pew Research Center. The majority of the public seems to be more reasonable than we might think. We’re constantly reminded of the left/right political divide, which suggests that all of us are on one side or the other. But it seems that most of us really don’t like the current state of politics. Read More