If you’ve not yet read this, I’d encourage you to do so. Matt Leighninger and Quixada Moore-Vissing summed up the current state of affairs nicely in this paper from Public Agenda. As they said, “When citizens do not feel their voices matter, particularly when they have made the effort to consciously engage, it can breed frustration, disengagement, distrust, and in extreme cases, violence.” I think their publication, Rewiring Democracy, captures the main and fringe influences that will keep us all busy for the rest of our collective careers in working with the public. As a practitioner of mostly thick engagement, I recommend it.