Citizen Engagement In Politics And Policy - Why It Matters

Reasons why citizens do not take an interest in politics and public policy

Why do you think most citizens do not take more interest in politics and public policy? Is citizen engagement an issue that we should be paying attention to? What might increase our national level of interest and participation? What would you motivate you to become more active?

Most of the citizens do not take an interest in politics, as they do not find it beneficial. There are cases when it is seen that most of the citizens did not get the desired level of opportunities from the government or politics. There are certain situations in which the citizens are skeptical, as they can perceive in their mind about the happenings of the government policies. As in the United States, most of the people do not partake in the democratic decision. They have a feeling of creating this as the part of oligarchy (Anyon, 2014). Most of the public policies include effectiveness in which the policy of the US government is to achieve more and more engagement of the citizens. Apart from this, the efficiency of the policy includes the benefits of the citizens with respect to benefits of the citizens. Most of the American society has received the benefits at every level of the society. This ensures that the government has been fair in dealing with the distribution of the costs and the benefits in the society. Ethics in policy analysis includes the cultural norms in the American society, which could be based on the analysis of the every level of society (Kraft & Furlong, 2015). The political feasibility of the officials includes the acceptance of the elected officials. This is the work and the efficiency that they offer holding the particular position for the country. Based on this aspect the support from the citizens is important for the elected officials who get the social acceptability from the citizens. The policies have been effective to implement the policy for the large-scale society. In most of the cases, the technical aspect of the policy includes the reliability and the feasibility of the citizens to receive the required technology. The problem with citizens voting is lack of interest as citizens do not get the required opportunity and reliability. Like for example still as per reports in 2013 45% of the household of America do not have transit access. Similarly nearly 80% of the population affected by hurricane did not get the support from the government.

Why citizen engagement is a critical concern

Citizen engagement is one of the major issues in which the country needs to delve. The issues of the citizens are based on creating a platform for engagement and innovation. In such cases, the citizens need to engage in employment or the sections that are best for them. Apart from this, the issue of the citizens includes lack of communications strategy. In this case, the major issue is to deal with the proper communication and interaction process. At times, most of the citizens do not receive ample resources. In such case, the citizens of the country must be engaged by ensuring the above-mentioned points (Birkland, 2014). These points must be ensured by the country to engage an optimum number of citizens in the decisions of the political view of the country. Paying attention to these would help in generating the positive views of the citizens.

The national level or interest may be fostered by maintaining the fairness in the allocation of the resources. Optimum help and improvement of the citizens is the most important aspect along with resolving the popular problem of the citizens. There must be communities or programs that help the citizens along with the incorporation of the cultural values. The service industry along with the infrastructure of the country must be enhanced to get the positive view of the citizens. Apart from this the technological advancement of the country must be ensured. This would help in generating the better prospect for the citizens. They are satisfied with high end technology.  Most of the citizens can participate in the critical foundation and issues of the country with the implementation of the civil liberties (Gerston, 2014). These various grounds help in the increase of national interest.

The aspect that is helpful in making me more active includes freedom of the citizens. This must include the necessary assembly and the participation of the citizens. The uniform judicial process is another factor helpful in creating the right perception of the citizens. Most of the government must be able to come off the disengagement of the citizens through the cooperation. In most of the cases, the necessity of the government is looking into the fact that the economy can give necessary infrastructure to me. Apart from this, the policies of the government must be helpful in creating the opportunity for employment. Finally, educational opportunity plays a pivotal role (Kahne & Westheimer, 2014).

How to increase national level of interest and participation

In most of the cases, the violence in most of the schools is one of the aspects that create the issue for the authority at the same time the school authorities. However, in case of the proper monitoring of the government and the policies help in indulging and analyze the issues with violence. The recent cases in the area of violence like the attack of the gunned people in one of the issues in which the government policies could enhance and take care properly. In this regard, it is my responsibility to take the necessary step being an able citizen of the country. In this regard, I would like to draft a letter to the local representative to take the necessary step regarding the issues that general public is facing. In most of the cases, the issues do not reach the higher officials of the government (Nabatchi et al. 2012). In such case, the responsibility could be shouldered to the local representative to increase the surveillance system and to enhance public service. In the similar aspect, it is important to note that being part of the committee and as effective policy analysis the importance includes achieving the goals of the committee. This is the well-defined structure where the equity deals with fairness. In case of PAC, the ethics of the committee includes the cultural norms. In case of being a part of local neighborhood, I need to give the support and the political feasibility to the committee. Technical feasibility and the administrative feasibility include the ability to implement the policy and the technological reliability (Kraft & Furlong, 2015). The administration is the implementation of the policies and in the local scenario, this is important for me to support the committee and to require the desired solution to the issues. This is important for getting the sustainable decision.

I would also like to mention that being part of the democracy is important to resolve the issues in addition, to cast the vote for the betterment or change on the positive ground. Registration for the vote might help me change in the society and can influence the existing or the new government to implement new methods for the monitoring process. Like for example the case in Sandy Hook Elementary School, New town, Connecticut or Columbine High School. In such case, the right to vote and to cast the vote would be influential. Apart, from this it is also important that with my participation others might be interested in the registration process (Whitmarsh, Seyfang & O’Neill, 2011). This would be helpful for the country and especially the local area. PAC or Political action committee is the one of the aspect that is helpful in dealing with all the aspect of the political aspect. This committee can help in creating the awareness within the citizens with their participation. This is one of the organizations in The US, which helps in raising the necessary fund for the development. PAC has the capacity of influencing the Federal Election Campaign Act. In most of the case, this is one of the major aspects that help in dealing with the leaderships in PAC. The influence helps in the process of creating new rules to change the programs of the federal structure (Wilson, 2012).

I have tried to make certain problems that I would like to share with one of the members of the local government. This is large because to enhance the security processes in the school to make the students safe. This is one of the aspects, which would help the parents to be sure of the safety of the children. Apart from this, I could channel the major understanding of the issues with the help of the interactive process with the local representatives (Zeldin, Camino & Calvert, 2012). I would like to play the part of an able citizen with the help of being part of the local government officials.

Reference list

Anyon, J. (2014). Radical possibilities: Public policy, urban education, and a new social movement. Routledge.

Birkland, T. A. (2014). An introduction to the policy process: Theories, concepts and models of public policy making. Routledge.

Gerston, L. N. (2014). Public policymaking in a democratic society: A guide to civic engagement. Routledge.

Kahne, J., & Westheimer, J. (2014). Teaching democracy. Social Studies Curriculum, The: Purposes, Problems, and Possibilities, 353.

Kraft, M. E. & Furlong, S. R. (2015). Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Sage Press

Nabatchi, T., Gastil, J., Weiksner, G. M., & Leighninger, M. (Eds.). (2012).Democracy in motion: Evaluating the practice and impact of deliberative civic engagement. Oxford University Press.

Whitmarsh, L., Seyfang, G., & O’Neill, S. (2011). Public engagement with carbon and climate change: To what extent is the public ‘carbon capable’?.Global Environmental Change, 21(1), 56-65.

Wilson, L. (2012). Civic engagement and the baby boomer generation: Research, policy, and practice perspectives. Routledge.

Zeldin, S., Camino, L., & Calvert, M. (2012). Toward an understanding of youth in community governance: Policy priorities and research directions. Análise Psicológica, 25(1), 77-95.