- That's what we pay the professionals for: This perception is reinforced by the common practice of hiring professionals to do surveys, conduct seminars etc. to get public input. Then when the report comes out it seems biased toward the professionals for whom the input was obtained.
- My input does not matter.
- Don't need more information or involvement.
- I am too busy.
- Admit our mistakes or differences and move on.
- Have professionals facilitate and participate with the public rather than working independently.
- Bring all those interested together and publish everyones input.
- Seek wisdom from the past.
- Encourage people to balance self-interest and community involvement. Involve others, beyond information messaging (email, facebook, texting etc.) work and recreation (entertainment - movies, sports etc.). See quote and references below.
The following quote from Quentin J. Schultze's book HABITS OF THE HIGH-TECH HEART: LIVING VIRTUOUSLY IN THE INFORMATION AGE illustrates this balance from an historical perspective.
"When Tocqueville visited the United States in the 1830s, he wondered how a representative form of political governance could survive among purely self-interested individuals. Tocqueville discovered that Americans' individual self-interests are leavened morally by 'habits of the heart.' In his view these social mores emerge from Americans' commitments to each other and to the general public good. He concluded that voluntary religious associations, in particular, cultivate moral sentiments that soften self-interest, with an overarching commitment of the common good." (Page 17)
Fran Sciacca's book (Generation at Risk: What Legacy Are the Baby-Boomers Leaving Their Kids) outlines how our society has gone from balancing self-interest by "commitments to each other and to the general public good" to a society that is primarily made up of "self-interested individuals" with little commitment to the general public good.
