Hello readers!
Welcome to my Civic Issues Blog! In our lives, there will be many issues that come to our attention and become very important to us. As an International Politics major, I am constantly learning about the world around us, as well as our own system of government and how it differs from everyone else. To me, politics is more than just talking about government and debating for the next election. Politics does involve government, but includes so much more, like the issues that are discussed that cause people’s politics to differ.
As a kid, I never really was interested in politics and government. It always seemed so confusing for me and relatively boring. History always interested me, so when I found out that in 8th grade we would be learning more about government than an actual history class, I was upset. However, the new social studies class I took (Civics) ended up being my new favorite class. I learned so much about our system of government and it actually was interesting for me! Because of that class, I started to consider the possibility of being a Political Science major when I went to college. Even though it was a long ways off, Civics planted the seed in my head about the possibilities of learning about politics.
The older I got, the more interested I became in politics, especially when there were big elections coming up. I started to understand more about the process, the platforms, and the reasons why politics become so important before an election. It wasn’t until this past 2016 Presidential Election that I fully became immersed in the culture of politics, as it was the only thing anyone talked about. I would watch the debates, I would see hundreds of campaign ads, and I would begin to see my own beliefs forming in my head, even though I was still too young to vote.
From my experiences with politics and government, I have realized that there is so much more to it than political parties and elections. Politics are everywhere and have influence everywhere, particularly in civic issues that are brought up during elections that shape party platforms. Personally, I wish that I had gotten more involved in politics when I was younger. Looking back, I realize just how long it took be to begin to understand politics and become interested and a lot of that was because I only became interested in politics when there was an election going on. This is the case for many people, which is why it is believed that those people are ill-informed because they only start paying attention when it is absolutely necessary. Politics don’t wait to show up every four years when we have to elect a new President. Politics are here to stay and it is important to understand them so that people can use politics and the world around them to make the best decision for themselves and others.
One thing that is always a heavily discussed topic, especially around the time of presidential elections is voter turnout. As a citizen of the United States, we have the right to vote, yet not everyone expresses that right. In this article from the Pew Research Center, the results from voter turnout from elections is evaluated and compared to other developed countries. In the 2016 Presidential Election, only 55.7% of eligible voters actually voted.
Many people wonder why we have such a low percentage of people voting. One possible reason is that people aren’t as interested in politics as others. Many people use the excuse that they don’t really have a preference, so their vote wouldn’t do anything. In most cases, the person would have a preference if they took the time to evaluate the platforms and chose to pay close attention to a specific topic or topics and use those as the basis for voting. Speaking from experience, I know what it is like to not be involved or interested in politics. Because I am now able to see it from the side of paying attention to politics, I feel so much better knowing that I am well-informed and educated about our politics and system of government. Now that I have experienced what it is like to care about politics, I will continue to do so and never go back because I believe that being knowledgeable and aware about politics makes you not only a better person, but a better citizen. I know that I will be able to make an educated and informed vote in the next election that I am able to vote in.
No matter what party you belong to, what beliefs you have, or whether you follow American politics or not, welcome to my blog. I will evaluate national politics, as well as international to provide a global perspective, and also discuss some of the interest issues that go on party platforms. It is so important to be involved and I can’t wait to share the journey through politics with you.
As someone who has absolutely no idea what is happening in politics I am intrigued to see what you have to say on this. Also I think that you are very correct when you say that people aren’t voting because they are uninterested. My older sister almost did not vote in the previous election because she was not up to date about the election ( I know what a silly election to choose to not vote). I also think that it has to do with people not thinking their vote will change anything – I know when I was talking to to someone about their vote and their thoughts on the election they were hesitant to register and go through the paper work and get up and vote because they believed it just wouldn’t matter what they voted. I am curious as to whether you believe this is a societal issue or more of an individual responsibility.
I really enjoyed your personal experience with politics growing up, and hope that you continue to pursue your goal of fully understanding–and maybe even working in the field of–politics.
Though, even though I could relate wildly to your article, I would only dare to caution you as you continue blogging; it seemed that the post was more focused on your personal experience with politics rather than how you, or others, would define it. However, it was an excellent post overall.
Another thing that I would be aware of is that there are a few grammatical errors in your article. When reading it, I was tripped up a few times. Once again: nothing major. Just something little.
Lastly, if you would be able to make certain that your images are large enough/clear enough that readers can understand them, it may drive your point home even more. I understood the images that you had included in this post, but I couldn’t fully read the graph on the right.
First of all, I want to say this is a really good post. I get incredibly frustrated when people, especially our age, say that they either did not have time to vote, or that they chose not to. The reason that most give me is that it is because they feel that the system is rigged against them, and their one vote will not matter. But just recently in the elections in Virginia, we can see that a single vote does matter. Democrats called for a recount, and after it, one vote had switched, which gave them a tie for the State-House seat. In the end, the Republican got it, but saying that your vote does not matter has been absolutely debunked. I really think that we need to provide more civics education in high school, and make it mandatory. Students need to learn the importance of their role in our government, and this continuing downward spiral of the state of our political system can be reversed, if they just got involved.
Hey Mikaela!
The first element of your blog that really jumped out at me was the level of passion and excitement that you express for American and international politics, especially in the way you relate it to the entire population of our nation. I had a really similar experience to you, in not pushing myself to find a field to pursue in college but let whatever I’m passionate about come to me and give me hints toward what I really should venture into.
I remember starting my 8th grade civics class and not having any clue as to what we’d cover in class, because how much does a 13 year old really know about what “civics” means? At the end of the year, when it was time to sign up for advanced or regular history for 9th grade, I remember not wanting to sign up for the advanced course because I’d completely lost interest in history and just wanted to continue learning about how civic policy plays into the lives of every American. I really love when you mentioned, “those people are ill-informed because they only start paying attention when it is absolutely necessary.” This stuck with me a lot, as my parents often tell me that a lot of their coworkers only care about American politics every fourth year when the election comes around, and I could never really find a reason why their coworkers are like this. Reading your post opened my eyes to the idea that the 44.3% of eligible voters who did not vote in 2016 are probably just content with their lives and don’t see the election truly affecting their lifestyle. To be honest, I’d expect this statistic to be much lower, considering the radical ideals of both presidential candidates last November; but I could definitely see this number being much higher in past elections, as many voters couldn’t see the candidates really affecting their lives in a big way.
I really loved this introductory post and I can’t wait to hear what you have to have to say about international politics throughout the semester!