{"id":32854,"date":"2024-11-12T11:20:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T16:20:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peterlevine.ws\/?p=32854"},"modified":"2024-11-12T11:20:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T16:20:06","slug":"complexity-and-nuance-about-public-opinion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peterlevine.ws\/?p=32854","title":{"rendered":"complexity and nuance about public opinion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last Monday, I gave a talk<\/a> at Colgate University. I claimed that if you read a lot of mainstream survey research, you’re likely to conclude that “people are stupid and they hate each other,” but this negative assessment reflects some bias. A student, Colgate senior Clementina Aboagye, told Maddie Koger of the Colgate Maroon-News<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI think it was important that we had someone like Peter Levine who comes from an institution like Tufts University to present us [with the idea] that as much as we may disagree with each other, we still have complexities in how we think \u2014 that it\u2019s important we search for gray areas because politics isn\u2019t so black and white,\u201d Aboagye said. \u201cThose gray areas are important for us to not only converse about, but also to give each other space to speak \u2014 even when we don\u2019t agree, because we can\u2019t always agree \u2014 and we live in a world where people\u2019s experiences and access to things determine what kind of ways in which they think \u2014 that deserves consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The very next day, a majority of American voters chose Donald Trump, concluding a campaign marked by polarized media, misinformation, hostility, and attacks (from one side) on basic liberal norms. Yet I still think there’s truth in the argument I offered at Colgate, which you could watch in full here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The previous week, I had given <\/strong>American University’s annual Lincoln Scholars Lecture on “What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life.” Although my topic was quite different, this talk also offered a more positive view of civic life than one would glean by focusing only on an ugly and dangerous national election. According to Ridha Riyani’s summary<\/a> in the AU Eagle<\/em> newspaper, I said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe disagree because we care, and we need to do it better. …<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Levine] ended with a call to action, reminding attendees that civic life extends beyond national politics and requires thoughtful collaboration.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn conversation, we can move towards greater wisdom,\u201d Levine said. \u201cWe communities are capable of changing the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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