Comment 64699

By mystoneycreek (registered) - website | Posted June 08, 2011 at 06:09:27 in reply to Comment 64686

So how do we make it happen? We're in a catch 22 because our ideas on how to make citizen engagement work better have to go through today's not-better way of doing citizen engagement.

I've just dealt with this notion in an editorial. I don't try to present any possibilities or suggestions (not because I don't have any, I began addressing the possibilities last year, but because looking at solutions wasn't the impetus of my piece), but here's something I firmly believe:

We live in a world of instant information. Of updates and of Tweets and social-networking dissemination of 'news'. Now, while some of the 'events' that better citizen engagement produces would be handled by the above, the real 'change' wouldn't. Over time, yes. But because we've become so inculcated with this 'instant gratification' ideology, subtle changes aren't valued. In fact, they're often scorned, or at the least, diminished.

People have no patience. (Or faith.)

Rather than trying to answer the question 'How do we make it happen?', I'm going to ask two questions, understanding that this is an article unto itself.

1) Describe how things currently look regarding citizen engagement. 2) How would you prefer they look?

Yeah, the second part is much harder because, to paraphrase Taco Bell, 'When you're stuck inside the bun, it's hard to have a healthy perspective.'

Comment edited by mystoneycreek on 2011-06-08 06:16:52

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