[Winona Online Democracy]
Hello Craig and Others,
Craig, the poll about people caring was interesting. According to the article, some of the main reasons people don't get more involved are, ----- "The turnoff, the poll found, is threefold: Much of what's billed as an opportunity for citizen involvement in government amounts to wheel-spinning, with too much discussion of problems and not enough action. That makes it excessively time-consuming. In addition, politics has become too mean-spirited to be any fun. And too few decision makers seem to care about what average people think. " ------ I can understand the frustration with wheel spinning. I feel the same way many times. I would also add there are at least three other reasons why people don't get more involved. They are: 1. Schools: Our schools do not teach community and civic involvement. We study government and politics from a distance but we don't practice local, hands-on civics and democracy. People may feel an urge to get involved and help out but they may not know how since they have never really done it before. By the way, the new federal No Child Left Behind education standards only makes this problem worst. Most student councils have no real "power." They are usually a bunch of great kids doing wonderful things but in essence, they are just a student glee or school spirit club. 2. Over Worked: Because of what we have allowed to happen to our lives, most Americans don't simply have the time to get involved. For many people, there isn't enough time to get the laundry done, let alone become involved in the community or to volunteer. The average work week in the U.S. is over 46 hours a week, not the mythical 40 hours most of think of. Do we simply have enough time for democracy, our neighborhoods, or even ourselves? 3. System Problem: Our current democratic system is not meant for mass participation. It says it is but it isn't. It's really designed for a small group of elected officials to watch over a large group of professionals. I'm not saying that is necessarily all bad, it's just simply what it has become. Democracy was originally meant to involve far bigger numbers of citizens in real and direct ways. Could we move back toward that? The article also said, ------ "The Citizens League intends to use them in the next 18 months to develop recommendations for a tune-up of the state's problem-solving systems, timed for the 150th anniversary of Minnesota's statehood." ------ Is there anything we could do locally to become a part of this interesting and important discussion? (Can we drag ourselves away from the more juicy blogs?) Dwayne Voegeli Dec. 9, 2006 ============== ----- Original Message ----- From: Craig Brooks To: WOD Sent: Wednesday, December 06, 2006 5:04 AM Subject: [Winona] Citizen Involvement versus Apathy [Winona Online Democracy] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do we really want to be involved? A recent survey says we do. An editorial in the Trib. http://www.startribune.com/561/story/856093.html and in the Pioneer Press http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/16119334.htm summarizes the results of a Citizen's League survey. http://www.citizensleague.net/ The poll results are found at http://map150.org/poll/statewide-poll-findings/ What might you recommend as ways citizens here in Winona could be involved in local government and in issues in ways that are meaningful enough to motivate participation? Much is said about public input being a facade or being fixed via who is named or what the group is allowed to do. How can that be changed? Craig Brooks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.15.9/571 - Release Date: 12/5/2006
_______________________________________________ This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy All messages must be signed by the senders actual name. No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list. To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona Any problems or suggestions can be directed to mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
