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Civic dialogues:

a dialogue

 

We welcome suggestions for topics
to discuss, comments about the dialogues,
their format and timing, as well as other
statements of interest...

Beth and Eric
of the Civics Research Group
 

 

On hope and democracy

Open Discussion

Is hope essential to democracy or is it created by democracy? Is it ever lost because of democracy?

In the last dialogue people related frustrations and disappointments from participating - and from trying to participate - in our democracy. People also spoke of the need for such processes in order to cope with complex social and environmental issues. This contradictory combination led to questions about democracy, but also to questions about hope: Are people generally becoming more hopeful or less hopeful, and can democracy flourish where there is little hope?

By bringing a variety of together people, this dialogue will provide an opportunity for discussing such questions and concerns among citizens with a different backgrounds and experience. It will offer an opportunity for you to express your feelings about the question: Are you becoming more hopeful or less hopeful?

You'll find a series of questions and a list of indicators below. The questions are a test for democracy from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. If you like, you can complete the survey on-line, and submit your answers to the Institute itself. A survey on the state of Canadian democracy, gleaned from the responses that have been submitted so far is readily accessible on the website.

The indicators listed below the questions have been developed by Health Canada. They are the indicators they applied in assessing the mental health of the Canadian public. Hope springs forward in that list.

A quick survey to help you decide the state of our democracy from the International IDEA:

• Nationhood and IdentityIs there public agreement on a common citizenship without discrimination?
• The rule of law and access to justiceAre state and society consistently subject to the law?
• Civil and political rightsAre civil and political rights equally guaranteed for all?
• Economic and social rightsAre economic and social rights equally guaranteed for all?
• Free and fair electionsDo elections give the people control over governments and their policies?
• Democratic role of political partiesDoes the party system assist the working of democracy?
• Government effectiveness and accountabilityIs government accountable to the people and their representatives?
• Civilian control of the military and policeAre the military and police forces under civilian control?
• Minimizing corruptionAre public officials free from corruption?
• The media in a democratic societyDo the media operate in a way that sustains democratic values?
• Political participationIs there full citizen participation in public life?
• Government responsivenessIs government responsive to the concerns of its citizens?
• DecentralisationAre decisions taken at the level of government which is most appropriate for the people affected?
• International dimensions of democracyAre the country's external relations conducted in accordance with democratic norms, and is it itself free from external subordination?

Indicators of Mental Health in Mental Health of the Canadian Population: A Comprehensive Analysis Thomas Stephens, Corinne Dulberg and Natacha Joubert, Volume 20, No. 3 - 1999, from Health Canada, Population and Public Health Branch

• Sense of coherence (SOC), or psychological well-being, refers to an outlook or enduring attitude whereby life is seen as comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. It has been shown in a number of international studies to predict longevity and to relate to physical health, a conclusion that appears to hold for the Canadian population as well.
• Self-esteem refers to a positive sense of self and was assessed by six questions taken from the classic Rosenberg scale used to measure this attribute. There is no accepted definition of adequate self-esteem.
• Sense of mastery is the extent to which individuals believe their life chances are under their control. It was measured by means of seven questions.
• Happiness and interest in life is a single item from the multi-item Health Utility Index.Respondents were asked “Would you describe yourself as usually ... happy and interested in life,” through “somewhat happy” and ending with “... so unhappy that life is not worthwhile.” This variable was dichotomized as happy/other.
• Depression is a mood disorder characterized by pervasive feelings of sadness, sometimes accompanied by a sense of helplessness, hopelessness, irritability and physical symptoms such as fatigue.
• Distress, as measured in the 1994/95 NPHS, is a state characterized by symptoms of anxiety and depression. The impact of distress on life and activities was measured with a single question: “How much do these experiences usually interfere with your life or activities?” and a response of either “a lot” or “some” was used to define a life affected by distress.
• Cognitive impairment was measured by two questions, one each about difficulties with thinking and remembering, which were part of the Health Utility Index.Impairment was defined as “unable to remember anything at all,” “unable to think or solve problems” or “some difficulty thinking.”

In the survey from which these indicators were taken, attributes and factors against which mental health was considred included age, sex, province of residence, education, income adequacy and household type; childhood traumas, life events, current stressors, involving time pressures, others’ expectations, quality of social relationships, a social involvement index, a frequency of social involvement index, and a social support index. Further details on these measures have been published by Statistics Canada.

Our first series, January 16th - February 6th, 2002,

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