Recently, our class role-played two scenarios to gain an understanding of perspective on contextualizing stories and forming policy. In the first, a boy has a dog-walking job, and the dogs escape while chasing a cat, trampling a neighbor's flower bed. The reaction of the witnesses were very different, depending on their background, stake in the event, and perspective. For instance, the flower bed owner treated his flowers as family, and would obviously be very upset by what happened. Meanwhile, a girl who was afraid of cats, probably would get a kick out of the events, especially since cats were being chased. So, perspective matters a lot, and resolving conflict is easier once you understand the background, bias, and perspective of those involved. In the second scenario, 6 stake-holders hold a Town Hall Forum to discuss the placement of a new factory in Town X. One of the first things to recognize about policy making is that you rarely can please everyone involved. Compromise will help spread the pain or joy of the final decision. Some hold on to their position strongly and will refuse to compromise or be very upset by any compromise that is taken. One of the good things I observed this year was that the role-players were much more amenable to compromise. That is a good sign for our policy makers of tomorrow.
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