In The New York Times yesterday, an article on the 2010 campaign in the US spoke about voter disengagement and how most people say it is because of the high unemployment rate, government spending, the deficit and our disaffection with politicians. However Matt Bai says that is not the whole story and after talking to some marketing consultants who spoke with independent voters, different issues are factoring into the mindset of Americans facing electoral choices.
“The dominant theme of the discussion, in which jobs and taxes came up only in passing, seemed to be the larger breakdown of civil society — the disappearance of common courtesy, the relentless stream of data from digital devices, the proliferation of lawsuits and the insidious influence of media on their children. One woman described a food fight at the middle school that left a mess school employees were obliged to clean up, presumably because the children couldn’t be subjected to physical labor. A man complained about drivers who had grown increasingly hostile and inconsiderate on the roads, which drew nods of assent all around. Another described the Internet as just plain ‘bad.’”
I bring this up because the breakdown in civil society was the topic of our in-depth investigation into Civility in America that we undertook several months ago with Powell Tate and KRC Research. We found that an overwhelming majority of Americans view the erosion of civility in human interaction today as a major problem. Among the many signs pointing to this steady decline were the daily occurrences of cyber bullying, online “flaming” and nasty blog comments, the venomous bickering taking place on some reality TV shows and between TV news personalities and their guests, and the mean-spirited mudslinging among politicians and their loyal supporters. Weber Shandwick Chairman Jack Leslie said, “Freedom of expression is the bedrock of our society. Conflicting points of view are always welcome but too much incivility in the public squarecan turn people away from voicing their opinions.”
The tone of civility is clearly causing Americans to tune out from the most fundamental elements of our democracy — government and politics, news coverage and reporting, and opinion pieces and editorials in newspapers and magazines. We have the facts to back this up. Sadly, the top reason for what people can do about this growing uncivil nations was for parents should teach their children the importance of civility from an early age. This made me think of the young people who have recently made news after taking their lives over cyberbullying or reputation-crushing events.
Weber Shandwick provides several strategies that can be taken to combat the the rise of incivility that is causing people to tune out. Take a look. We saw it coming.Advocates for a more civil society need to speak up and make changes. Here is one place to start – CiviliNation.
There is a group in France called La Barbe or “The Beard” that advocates for more women on boards in that country. Apparently the women show up in disguise (yes, wearing beards!) at annual meetings to let these female-few companies hear a piece of their minds. The women wear the beards for fear of retribution and being found out. French lawmakers are giving some thought to requiring at least 40% of boards to be made up of women within six years. A similar law exists in Norway where quotas exist. In France, 9 1/2 percent of boards have women compared to 12.2% in the US and 34% in Norway. Learned about this in Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Interesting way to advocate for greater gender equality in the board room or should I say beard room. Advocacy exists in all places and for all kinds of causes. Advocacy is genderless.
We just completed a survey on civility in America. The survey was conducted with Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate and KRC Research. We decided to dig deep into the tone and level of discourse in this country and surveyed 1,000 Americans online. I’d like to share with you some of the findings which point to an erosion in how people communicate with each other and with our public institutions. Since being informed is so fundamental to our democracy, our research might make people think twice before cancelling out other people’s opinions online and offline. You might also want to take a look at how Politico framed our research and underscored our point even further. As advocates for strong public discourse and hearing both sides of an issue, here are a few select findings: [For more information, please go to this link for the press release and here for the executive summary.]
Two-out-of-three Americans consider a general lack of civility to be a major problem for the nation and 72 percent think that poor behavior has gotten worse in recent years.While the American people believe their friends, family and places of worship are bucking the trend toward incivility, a majority of the public sees uncivil behavior throughout society – especially in politics and high schools; on talk radio and our nation’s highways; in Hollywood and professional sports.
Seventy-two percent of Americans view the political world and government as uncivil – the highest percentage recorded in the poll – and the absence of civility appears to be having an impact on participation and interest in the political process among broad swaths of the public.
Nearly half the American people (49%) are tuning out government and politics, and almost two-thirds of those people (63%) cite the general tone and level of civility as a major factor in their decision. Forty-six percent of the people are tuning out opinion pieces and editorials in the media, and 45 percent cite incivility as a major factor. Thirty-eight percent are tuning out news coverage and reporting and half of them (50%) attribute their actions to the lack of civility.
Each major political party gives the other low marks on civility. Seventy-one percent of Democrats view Republicans as uncivil, and 74 percent of Republicans view Democrats as uncivil. Political independents regard Congressional Republicans more uncivil than Congressional Democrats, although they rate both parties more uncivil than civil (58 and 50 percent, respectively).“Our research provides hard evidence that constituents and consumers alike are fed up with the polarization of our political system and the uncivil tone of our country as a whole,” said Jack Leslie, Chairman of Weber Shandwick. “As a result, Americans are tuning out and turning away from news, information and informed opinions that make up the very foundation of American democracy.”
Have you heard of the Giving Pledge? I had not heard of it and there is good reason–I am not wealthy. The Giving Pledge is a new organization whereby wealthy (uber-wealthy) Americans pledge to donate 50% or more of their fortune to philantrophy. Warren Buffet just signed his pledge to donate his wealth and others are being encouraged to join this noteworthy movement of advocates for philanthrocates (a new word I just made up). There will even be a “Great Givers” annual meeting where the wealthy will gather to discuss how to best make use of their wealth giving. A very worthwhile cause to aid the world solve some of the most intractable problems and help people in greater need. Thank goodness there are people with a head on their shoulders. Here is how it is explained on the website.
The Giving Pledge is an effort to invite the wealthiest individuals and families in America to commit to giving the majority of their wealth to the philanthropic causes and charitable organizations of their choice either during their lifetime or after their death.
Each person who chooses to pledge will make this statement publicly, along with a letter explaining their decision to pledge. At an annual event, those who take the pledge will come together to share ideas and learn from each other.
The Pledge is a moral commitment to give, not a legal contract. It does not involve pooling money or supporting a particular set of causes or organizations.
While the Giving Pledge is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from efforts in the past and at present that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds. We are inspired by the example set by millions of Americans who give generously (and often at great personal sacrifice) to make the world a better place.
I came across a survey conducted among Americans who have a leadership role in their communities. You might call them engaged advocates. The survey was about philantrophic organizations which we all know something about but obviously not much as you will soon read. The survey by the Packard Foundation with Harris Interactive found that foundations are largely invisible, even among those who should know better. Only 43% of these engaged Americans were able to name a foundation on their first try. Whereas 13% consider themselves to be very or extremely informed about foundations, 60% feel somewhat or not at all informed about them. The results are just plain scary — only 15% can cite an example of how a foundation has impacted their community. The survey results add up to one plain fact which is that foundations need to communicate better to their best customers, community advocates, because they are the ones who are most likely to spread the word and keep their good work front and center in the public domain. Greater communications are clearly in order here.
I never thought about it but when I searched, I found nearly 1.4 million quotes about advocacy. And on the site I just linked to, there were several about social entrepreneurs which is a good way of talking about advocates. The one below is short and to the point about advocacy. However, sometimes just giving a fish can make all the difference in the world.
Do you have a dog or cat in need of grooming? If so, here is an opportunity to advocate for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean-up efforts. Consider taking your pet to a groomer who will donate your pet’s fur to Matter of Trust, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that has established a process for collecting animal fur and human hair to create nylon “booms” that naturally absorb oil from the water. Last week retailer PETCO began shipping donations of pet fur from its grooming salons to aid in creating these booms to soak up and remove oil from Gulf of Mexico waters. Once fur shipments arrive in the Gulf Coast region, volunteers gather to assemble the booms and prepare for their deployment. The booms are made by stuffing donated nylon stockings with hair and fur. With nearly 1,000 grooming salons pitching in, PETCO expected to ship up to a ton of donated fur per day hoping to reach 5 tons through this past weekend.
As a pet owner, I say it’s about time my pets begin contributing to society! Joking aside, this is a truly unique and worthwhile program. Get your four-legged friends to advocate for the wildlife in the Gulf who so gravely face endangerment.
Recently became aware of this very cool mobile application that lets consumers advocate for causes just by scanning certain products in stores or restaurants with their iPhone or Android. It is called CauseWorld and it is sponsored by Citibank, Kraft Foods and Proctor & Gamble who have provided nearly $1,000,000 for you to donate. No purchase of their products is necessary – you walk into a store and scan the barcode of products. Each time you scan a product you earn “karmas” and when you earn enough, you can donate them to a variety of charities with which CauseWorld partners.
A really innovative way of turning advocacy into action.
Interesting idea regarding what Advocates could accomplish. And the idea comes fromKenya. A well known Kenyan professional returned to her homeland and because of death threats, she went elsewhere. In her blog, she mentioned how great it would be if there was an online tool to let people anonymously report violence and bad behavior. Some tech savvy Advocates saw her post and built something from her idea for her….Ushahidi.The site today uses cell phone reports of violence, riots, rapes, death threats and plots them on a map. Ushahidi is Swahili for “testimony.”Ushahidi has taken off and was most recently used when the Haitian earthquake struck and people were using SMS to report on individuals unable to get out of damaged buildings.
In this New York Times article where I first found this information, the idea surfaced about using this type of reporting to gather information on where Osama bin Laden might be hiding. Wouldn’t that be amazing. Ushahidi could be the foundation for building a crisis map of the world manned by global volunteer advocates.“With every new application, Ushahidi is quietly transforming the notion of bearing witness in tragedy. “
Are we making too many generalizations about digital natives, those people born between 1980 and 2000, who we consider digital advocates as well.An article in The Economistreasons that there is as much variation among digital natives as among generations. Of course, not every one, has access to technology as we sometimes fool ourselves into thinking. But what caught my eye in the article was a reference to a Pew Research Center study that found that the younger 18-24 year olds that we assume are online activists are the least likely age cohort to e-mail a public official or donate money to a political cause online. That surprised me after living through the Obama presidential campaign where young people were out in force online pitching for the democratic nominee.Instead, these digital natives in this age group are more likely to share political news and join political causes on social media sites. “Rather than genuinely being more politically engaged, they may simply wish to broadcast their activism to their peers.” High intensity advocates, as we at Weber Shandwick call them, walk the talk and take action in support of their causes. These findings would suggest that 18-24 year olds are more likley to be passive advocates or are more inclined to spread word of mouth than engage outside their networks more proactively. Very revealing finding.
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All About Advocacy is a blog written by and for people who believe in the accelerating power of Advocates in society today.
Contributors include a wide range of Weber Shandwick Advocates (plus any other Advocacy fans like yourself) who share their unique perspectives about this new shift in communications.
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There is a group in France called La Barbe or “The Beard” that advocates for more women on boards in that country. Apparently the women show up in disguise (yes, wearing beards!) at annual meetings to let these female-few companies hear a piece of their minds. The women wear the beards for fear of retribution and being found out. French lawmakers are giving some thought to requiring at least 40% of boards to be made up of women within six years. A similar law exists in Norway where quotas exist. In France, 9 1/2 percent of boards have women compared to 12.2% in the US and 34% in Norway. Learned about this in 
We just completed a survey on civility in America. The survey was conducted with 
Have you heard of the 
I came across a 
I never thought about it but when I searched, I found nearly 1.4 million quotes about 
Interesting idea regarding what Advocates could accomplish. And the idea comes from
Are we making too many generalizations about digital natives, those people born between 1980 and 2000, who we consider digital advocates as well.