Recorded on April 22, 2015
Can a polarized public maintain a healthy democracy? It’s not just the Congress that is ideologically divided. The Pew Research Center recently documented how the American people have become polarized over the past 50 years. Michael Dimock, President of the Pew Research Center, discusses this ground-breaking study and its implications for the health of our democracy with Ted Landsmark, president emeritus of the Boston Architectural College. What can citizens do to create and support effective community dialogues aimed at strengthening social bonds?
Watch “Polarized People” on YouTube here.
Read the Pew Research Center reports:
“Political Polarization in the American Public.”
“Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology”
“Political Polarization and Media Habits,”
Where do you fit? Take the quiz!
This program is funded in part by MassHumanities.
Tonight you have someone from the PEW foundation talking.
I wish I could call in. Parties lump people together who often shouldn’t be together on some issues.
Plus the fight between the parties makes campaigns more expensive, putting the wealthy more in charge.
A different solution is proposed by PeopleCount.org. How about we free elected officials from the parties by letting them communicate with the population inexpensively?
PeopleCount.org proposes that people vote on issues (try it- PeopleCount.org/reg.htm ). Then officials can see what they want and legislate with confidence. Atop this we’ll put a reporting platform. Reporting is half of accountability. Plus we’d need real choice in elections, which would only happen if campaigns were cheaper. So we’ll let candidates (challengers) report, too, inexpensively. Officials will be able to compete to deliver what people want instead of what parties want.
Your guest is talking about polling. Polling DOES tell us what people want, but not about what empowered people want, nor what people who care want – and it’s the people who care that should be influencing an issue.
Imagine PEW contacted 5,000 people and asked them if they care about a certain issue. If they do, they’d give them the survey questions and tell them they’ll call back for answers in two weeks. Most of these people would study a bit. The survey would empower them. They’d be able to act responsibly about forming opinions instead of just saying something off the top of their heads.
This is what PeopleCount.org proposes- people vote on issues and doing so will empower many of them to rise to the occasion and vote responsibly. We know this from schools- make kits information sponges and they tune out. Give them responsibility and they rise to the occasion. Let’s do this with ourselves.
PeopleCount.org is currently a California Benefit Corporation, in its infancy. The website is a working prototype of voting on issues, and a little bit more.
Also, I looked at your page about Renewing American Democracy: https://www.cambridgeforum.org/?cat=4
Sad that there’s nothing here since 2011.
PeopleCount.org would be a great addition.
Best wishes,
-Rand Strauss, CEO PeopleCount.org