Public Opinion

Only a small portion of the public is valued and has an opinion considered valid. Furthermore, what passes for solidarity rarely includes many ideas or, more importantly, many people who are providing alternatives to tradition. That which is commonly referred to as a democratic approach is often something very different. The prohibition of alternate views is never written in a formal rule book where it can be easily challenged. Instead, there's a consistent supply of subtle methods for blaming those who don't follow the prescribed plan. 

For example, the Internet continues to be small with very limited access. It would be helpful if discussions described as open and public would acknowledge this limitation, but that rarely happens. Usually when it is described as a tool for liberation, the describer has either been misled by popular culture or is just intentionally deceptive. Believing that inclusion exists long before it does will require ignoring the exclusionary methods being used. 

There are plenty of convenient ways to describe negatively those who aren't welcome (non-team player, selfish, willingly ignorant and/or poor, unnecessarily individualistic, antagonistic, etc.), and until this is no longer comfortable, the limited solution options that result will prevent progress. 

Those which are called the best ways to provide access and encourage inclusion are decided by authorities rather than by those who need support. Since needing support is synonymous with lacking understanding of what is important, the decision-making process is left to those who have been granted the privilege of calling what they think knowledge without it being adequately challenged. 

Much of what is discussed regarding the way diagnosis is used for people not fitting in or relating to others in a substandard way is limited to those who profit from problems continuing. The public follows the authority by pointing out what they see is lacking in others in a way that promotes their own status. 

The division between those who have the authority to participate in influential discussions and decide policy and those who don't, follows a similar trend as income and class division. The advertised way for people to overcome their position encourages the belief that people who are least respected don't contribute anything valuable and are therefore, disposable. This also encourages unrealistic expectations. Until what gets called public opinion is the result of hearing what many people think who are seen to have an inadequate or uneducated view, the definition of empowerment will be misleading and the goals which are set will continue to be unmet.