All posts in the topic Encouraging participation in public debate (Short link)
Summary
- There are 2 posts — by 2 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Ruth Wilkinson at Aug 19 10:47 UTC
In a culture like ours which is so fond of satire, so quick to ridicule and so
schooled in the adversarial model of debate it is small wonder that few people
find it easy to express their opinions, except to those they know well and
trust. In this context how do we encourage people to become involved in public
debate?
This is a subject close to my heart, James! Good examples of adversarial debate
can be observed in the points' scoring and 'willy waving' that goes on in the
House of Commons and in many Council meetings at both City and County levels.
In my view, there are a lot of people who would make very good councillors;
they are active in their communities, they care about the welfare of their
neighbours and environment, and want to make a positive difference in their
neighbourhoods, but shy away from local politics because they don't want to (or
are not equipped to) engage in verbal games playing. My personal style is to be
totally straight and say things how they are and I encourage others to do the
same. I figured the only way to bring about improving the above situations was
to get in there and change it from the inside, but it's a long term strategy!
I hasten to mention that this is my personal view, and in no way represents the
views of any organisation, political or otherwise! I think that people will
only feel comfortable about contributing to open debate if they feel their
views are listened to and respected. Maybe we need to address the active
listening and respect issues as a first step?