#civicengagement- People are paying attention. Now is the time for citizen engagement and education. The explosion of information through social media, internet content, TV news media, cable outlets, advertising, psychographic marketing, are all mind boggling in their output and influence. Simultaneously, the global agenda of common concerns is growing more apparent. Health pandemic , social determinants, violence reduction, generational poverty, systemic racism, and environmental sustainability touch the entire planet. Our ability to absorb massive amounts of information on any one of these challenges, and further to differentiate accurate and meaningful standards of good information, is becoming more difficult. Tearing down monuments, rioting in the streets, the latest tee shirt logo, political rhetoric, and PAC's are all unlikely to change human perceptions or behavior. The drumbeat of criticism and destruction of one another's symbols only heightens our adversity not lessens it. We need a coherent system of citizen engagement and education. K-16 education alone will not carry us through these complex global challenges. We need a vision far beyond the next election cycle for a more educated and humane society. Random messaging will not get us a path to human advancement.
Civic Engagement
