Politics as Unusual

by Martha L. McCoy and Julie Fanselow

January 25, 2008 | |

Excerpt of "Politics as Unusual":

In a growing number of places where people previously felt sidelined by the political process, they and public officials are starting to realize that it is possible to value everyone’s participation, and to make a difference on tough issues such as racism, sprawl and educational achievement. They’re finding ways to connect the voices, needs and hopes of all kinds of people to decision-making and problem solving. And their actions may contain the seeds of change for our national politics, too.

This citizen-powered democracy is proving that most people are ready to move beyond talking past one another, or behind each other’s backs or only to people whose views mirror our own. After all, we already have plenty of bad “public talk” in our lives  – on the airwaves, in cyberspace and in local government meetings where officials face frustrated citizens who feel left out of the process.

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