Government Is Us: Strategies for an Anti-Government Era - Softcover

King, Cheryl Simrell; Stivers, Camilla; Box, Richard C.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 076190882X ISBN 13: 9780761908821

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 1998

Synopsis

In recent years, American attitudes about government have become increasingly disaffected and critical. After the 1995 bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City, a newspaper ad sponsored by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees brought to the nation′s attention the heroism of government workers′ rescue efforts, with the reminder that "This is our government."

This volume, the result of collaboration by practicing administrators and academics, explores the current anti-government climate and its effect on the work and working lives of public employees and their relationships with citizens. If offers economic, political, historical, and philosophical perspectives on citizen discontent and tells stories of actual working relationships between public agencies and citizens. The collaborators maintain that while government workers cannot control the economy or the bureaucracy as a whole, they can take practical steps to improve their interactions with citizens.

While many books advise citizens how to get what they want from government, few have been written to help career civil servants work better with citizens. In a time of public negativism, Government Is Us is about building relationships, listening, making connections, and hope.

About this title

From the Back Cover

While skepticism about government is an enduring feature of North American political culture, today's climate of anti-government sentiment has grown aggressive and even violent. This volume, made up of a community of prominent voices in public administration theory and practice, examines the current anti-government climate and its effect on the working lives of administrators and their relationships with citizens. It documents the sources of citizen discontent with government; explores its effects upon career civil servants' ability to do their work; and attempts to understand the implications for public administration practice in an anti-government area.

Edition details

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 076190882X
• ISBN 13: 9780761908821
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240