Advocacy Goals in Public Opinion

Managing public opinion and understanding the balance between its influence and your advocacy goals is a delicate matter. It is a task fraught with uncertainty because, as a policy advocate, you must navigate through the territory of politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists whose primary goals are to appease and please their constituents.

In this Discussion, you select a social problem that is of interest to you and identify how public opinion influences the process and political approaches involved in addressing that social problem.

Respond to a colleague who has chosen a social problem that is different from the one you selected, addressing the following:

· Offer an explanation of how public opinion can be influenced to address the problem identified by your colleague.

· Suggest policy advocacy approaches and skills he or she can use to address the problem with political leaders.

· Comment on the social justice implications of the approach or approaches you suggested.