ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607050042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
American celebrates its independence today, a day traditionally reserved for patriotic demonstrations. But on this 4th of July, a new poll finds Virginians in a pessimistic mood about their ability to make a difference in the civic life of their communities.
If you think about how your community makes decisions about the issues that concern you, which of these following statements best describes what happens:
Most of the important decisions are made without involving people like me at all: 49%
People like me could off their opinion, but it wouldn't matter very much in the end: 24%
People like me could offer their opinion to decision-makers who would pay attention to our concerns and consider them carefully: 24%
Don't know: 3%
If people are trying to figure out what to do about a particular concern, is it more likely that:
People will sit around and complain: 74%
People will take the initiative and get to work: 23%
Don't know: 3%
The poll surveyed 672 adult Virginians June 27-July 1. Margin of error is 4 percentage points.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB