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McDonalds value meal versus a bucket of KFC chicken with a friend; you are engaged in some

form of discourse even if on the surface it may seem very trivial like talking about the weather.

When discussions focus on national issues that are followed by feedback from an affected

group or engage large sections of a population on what is talked about as news of the day, they

become part of the public discourse. In a very broad sense, this is how we arrive at a public opinion

or consensus on issues over which people are divided where much of which can be dissected

further examining the type of information and aware choices people are given into consideration.

In areas across the country where I have traveled in person or researched by phone or

online, I am particularly drawn to places where “Community Conversations” are being held.

Some I have either participated in or studied up-close and have found the desire for dialogue and

civic engagement enticing as it has ever been. There is a dire need for locals to come together to

meet and sense meaningful connection in public settings so that we may communicate clearly for

a multitude of reasons with political leaders and among ourselves. In doing so, members of the

public can bring their voice (clearly heard) to issues of relevant concern and become co-active

participants in the collaborative work of building meaningful community and local government.

The term deliberative democracy is useful for describing a form of collective engagement and

reasoned discussion among members of the public, citizens, and government representatives,

working toward mutual decisions (Button & Ryfe, 2005; Gastil & Keith, 2005).

Ideally Community Conversations bring forth the practice of deliberative democracy which

promotes an open interchange between ordinary citizens and when invited government leaders. At

the heart of this practice is a process that makes room for many other forms of decision-making

with the aim of producing a course of action (Gutmann & Thompson, 2004).

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