Is it possible to transform public opinion from its current state of mistrust, frustration and lack of confidence in our institutions – a mood of being turned off and disengaged – to one of being turned on and fully engaged? If so, what would it take? How long would it take? What are the most promising strategies? And what is the likelihood of success or failure?

Based on extensive research, I am convinced that Americans yearn to have the public voice exert more influence than it does currently. A critical mass of Americans deeply desires to be invited to engage more actively in shaping the public policies that bear on their lives.

Despite this hopeful sign, however, it would be a mistake to assume that the transformation can be quick or easy. It will take a great deal of intelligent effort and leadership to transform the public mood from one that is disengaged to one that is fully engaged – from mistrust to trust, from sounding off and venting frustration to thoughtful deliberation and willingness to compromise.

I can only hazard a guess, but my best guess is that the transformation can’t be achieved in less than one or two decades. Public trust and confidence didn’t dissipate overnight, and it can’t be rebuilt overnight.

It takes time to find, elect and support leaders who trust the public enough to grant average Americans a voice in shaping fateful decisions.

It takes time for the leadership of our great institutions of business, media, law, medicine and education to adopt an outlook that assigns as much importance to the larger community they serve as their own parochial interests.

It takes time for the public to develop a better grasp of workable solutions to the wicked problems of our day.

But we can’t afford another 10 years of unwinding. If we were to drift downward until the mid-2020s, it might be impossible to reverse direction.

The most workable solution is, I believe, a two-prong strategy – one short term, the other long term. The short-term strategy would consist of a series of conventional political stopgap measures for the next decade to buy time and to ameliorate the plight of the bottom two thirds of the income distribution. The long-term strategy would involve the development of a new pragmatic public philosophy to assist thoughtful Americans in deliberating on our future.

I will explore this two-prong strategy in more depth in subsequent blogs.

Rebooting Democracy is a blog authored by Public Agenda co-founder Dan Yankelovich. While the views that Dan shares in his blog should not be interpreted as representing official Public Agenda positions, the purpose behind the blog and the spirit in which it is presented resonate powerfully with our values and the work that we do. To receive Rebooting Democracy in your inbox, subscribe here.

I’ve been called to the gratitude challenge, but rather than follow the rules I’ll be posting each day about an organization whose work I am grateful for.

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I am grateful for the work of Somerville Local First. You can support their work here or purchase tickets to their upcoming fundraiser if you feel so moved.

Somerville Local First is my chapter of the local movement. They provide technical assistance to help locally-owned, independent businesses, they build awareness of the local movement, and they serve as a gathering place for all things Somerville-local.

I have served on the board for about three years.

So why is the “local” movement important?

For me, the local movement is based on a simple premise: our communities are better when our businesses are part of the community.

To be fair, I do my share of corporate shopping. Sometimes, there’s not a locally-sourced alternative. Sometimes…well, sometimes that’s just how it goes.

But it kind of creeps me out that when I go to a Target in Somerville, MA its exactly the same as the Target in Oakland, CA. And it kind of creeps me out that they’ve expanded their grocery section so what used to be a dangerous sinkhole is now a total black hole – or am I the only one who goes in looking for one specific thing and comes out with a dozen things, which maybe I need but which really I don’t need.

And the whole time I’m there I don’t really have a human interaction. I just fall into a soporific daze where suddenly I really need an awkward-print blouse and a dorm-room organizer.

I mean. Not there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s gotta be more to life.

I prefer shopping local because I get to know the business owners and they get to know me. Because local shopping is a whole different experience – a happy slice of the ’50s without everything wrong with the ’50s.

Because local business owners are weird and they express the weird character of the community.

I could give you all sorts of figures about how shopping local is better for the environment, how shopping local creates more local jobs and puts more money into the local economy.

These are important, but that’s not what moves me.

What moves me about the local movement is that – when I look out on the landscape of businesses and companies I interact with, I know that some will be cold and distant, some will be carefully crafted brands with complex shelf-placement strategies designed to target core consumers.

But some businesses will just be people with an idea. People who think they have something to contribute. Who want to be part of the community and who try to make the community better through their work.

And with all the money, planning and resources those big businesses leverage to get my consumer dollars…it takes a thoughtful effort as a person to remember to shop local. To support the kinds of businesses I want in my community.

To support the kind of community I want in my life.

Please consider supporting this work or joining us at our HarvestFest, our fun, local beer festival!

To end the week, here is a video from Frontiers of Democracy 2014. It shows Dr. Tim Eatman, Co-director of Imagining America at Syracuse University, talking about “The Center of the Civic.” And not only talking–Tim has the courage to sing a cappella near the end. This is also a quiet tribute to Nancy Cantor, I believe.

The post Dr. Tim Eatman at Frontiers appeared first on Peter Levine.