Opinion and knowledge are two very important factors in the citizens of any successful democracy. All citizens should be aware of what is going on in their government and be able to formulate their own opinions on issues. A democracy cannot exist if people do not voice their feelings, and if only some do, you do not really have a democracy at all. Democracy comes from everyone being represented equally, and through voting and participation, everyone has a chance to make a difference. Our country and government were designed to give everyone a voice, so as we come closer and closer to equality, more and more people should be getting involved.
People need to be encouraged to get involved in politics and their government. Many people have no motivation to vote. It is as if they don’t care about the government. This is because of educational access, the media and its political presentation, the overpowering partisanship in the country and the fact that many people think that their single opinion cannot really change anything. In fact, if all the people who choose not to vote cast their ballots next term, there would begin to be a big change in things. There are other issues involving public opinion and where it is falling short in our democracy. These include some other informational short-cuts people use to make their opinions. People of the “mass” like to listen to what their peers have to say about things, they often judge the politicians themselves based on image alone, people fall into social groups and tend to follow, and most harmful to democracy, these people do not always understand the issues that they are voting for and how they can help and more importantly, harm society.
The Essay on Government Health Issues
MacDonald September 7, 2012 2. When critics refer to NY as a “nanny state” they’re emphasizing how the state of New York City is being treated as if we were children. Mayor Bloomberg and Thomas Farley, New York City’s health commissioner, are taking direct responsibility on making decisions on our health choices, from what we consume to how much exercise we do on a daily basis. 3. Mayor Bloomberg ...
The first solution in getting the public more knowledge about voting would be to cut back the political spending on advertising and distribute it to educating people on the government. Media advertising is one of the biggest reasons voters are misinformed. With enough money, a candidate can say whatever they please. The more money a politician has backing them, the more the media gets too. Instead of talking about what one politician does well or what another one may have done wrong, debates could be held so that each politician is on the same playing field. Some of this excess campaign money could be used to broadcast these debates instead of the tiresome infomercials candidates play over and over. Part this problem is on account of partisanship. People stand up for their party and tend not to listen to what the others have to say. Another helpful idea would be to include a brief, unbiased paragraph for each candidate on the ballots, explaining the different campaigns and stances on policies. The voters who know what they are voting for could overlook this while the others might find something they had not known.
An unknowing and un-voting society is a real problem facing our democracy. The issues stated above each have individual implications, but each one directly undermines the reason for democracy. A democracy is made so that the people being governed have an equal opportunity to control how they are governed and what goes on in their state. If people do not understand what exactly they are voting for, they are not helping themselves at all. People should know how their government is set up so that they can better understand how policies they vote for are going to be implemented in their lives. An argument would be that every citizen has the right to vote no matter how they choose to vote. This is a right and privilege we have, but that doesn’t dismiss the fact that voting for just anyone you feel like does not help our democracy. Better voter knowledge would change many people’s opinions on issues and get many more people involved in voting.
The Term Paper on Voting Patterns Web House Politicians
Recently, the debate of whether bipartisanship has completely left this country incapacitated due to the lack of cooperation between Senators and House members with conflicting opinions has grown especially due to the Clinton Impeachment Debates. Many individuals feel that the only reason William Jefferson Clinton was impeached in the House was due to the fact that the majority of the House is ...
