The importance of the people participating and discovering what their government is up to is vital to the survival of the Republic. by Self Made Man
(libertarian)
Friday, March 5, 2010
Americans are finicky when it comes to political participation or interaction. Most Americans are consumed with work and responsibilities at home. While these reasons are understandable, many Americans do not realize the affect their lack of participation may have on their future and their children's futures.
Convincing the public to take greater participation in their government is no easy task. Oftentimes, it takes a major government debacle or national event to peak their interest.
I find that in most cases the best way to help people gain interest in politics or government is by providing information or ideas that they may not have been aware of. If most people do not pay attention to recent events or make the effort to even watch or read the news, the majority will be unaware of how the government or their representatives are performing.
A prime example of this scenario and theory comes from proposing the assignment question to three of my co-workers. Each of them rarely if ever discuss politics openly and the conversation usually shifts to football, however when asked why they have little or no interest in government or affairs of state they all responded with the same answer; "The need to concentrate on work and family is more important than allocating the time and energy towards politics". They each agreed that it is important to participate, but not enough to overshadow the time spent with family and work.
Each of my co-workers had expressed that spending time with their family was more important than politics. I attempted to prove my theory that their lack of interest stems from their lack of awareness to the potential issues they and their families may be facing.
I sent each of them an email containing a link to a website that provided an article constructed on facts and opinions. The article was entitled "The Economy Hits Home: Entitlements, Why every American born today owes $184,000 and what to do about it".[1]I felt that this article would provide the greatest reaction due to its description of the potential impact of government spending and the economic future of their children.
The reaction I received was one of disbelief. None of my co-workers were aware of the potential situation even though they each had suspected as much. They each described that their children's economic future was important and would make further inquiries into how the government spends and appropriates tax dollars. When the issues directly affected them they presented greater interest and unease.
By providing information that had not been previously explored and by openly discussing issues that affect all of us I was able to implement awareness for the need of political participation. While this theory worked, it also has its negatives. There is a lot of information available to those who seek it and most of it is based on fact, but there is a lot of opinion and speculation and the hard part is separating the three. Overall the need to participate is strong in some and week in others and the best way to develop the interest in the week is through discussion and the presentation of new and old ideas. With knowledge comes power and responsibility and the need for every American to at least spend an hour or two a month keeping an eye on their government.
[1] The Economy Hits Home: Entitlements: Why every American born today owes $184,000
and what to do about it / Volume II in a series from The Heritage Foundation
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in this article are those of Self Made Man only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Self Made Man is solely responsible for the contents
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With all respect, more participation will not provide better candidates on any November ballot. So even with 100% participation, we would have had Obama or McCain. What would have changed? Nothing.
We have too many people per Representative. Period.
We need tto double the number of members in the House, and I would even increase the number of Senators by 1. Then each state could elect a Senator every two years.
Increasing these would increase the liklihood of you being heard by your Representative as well as the potential for third parties to get into Congress so that their message can be heard.
Posted By: Self Made Man
Date: 2010-03-05 19:05:33
Hello EJ, I believe you missed the point of my article. The piece is based on the common knowledge of the average citizen and how it affects their ability to make sound decisions when participating in government. If the average citizen doesn’t educate themselves on the issues and their impacts then making a choice when November roles around will be pointless.
I will agree with your assessment that we still would have been left with Obama or McCain despite citizen knowledge but I would also say that the primaries may have been different and those choices could have changed if the people had their facts straight.
As far as your assertion of adding more representatives, I will have to disagree on the grounds that we would be adding far more greed and power driven individuals to the public payroll. I will concede that it would potentially offer those who really do care about the future of America an opportunity but the risk would be too great and would only add more wolves to watch over the ever weakening sheep.
