The Lack Of Civic Virtue In The United States

A very controversial topic in the United States is whether or not Americans should be required to vote. Voting is a very essential piece to democracy, but many Americans today are not attending their voting location and supporting the candidate they feel is best. In recent elections, just 60% of registered voters casted their vote for a candidate. This is an issue that many people are not happy about, but whether or not there is reason to fix it is the other side to the case. Voter participation is an issue that has been going on for years, and no laws are in place currently to bring it up. Americans have been proud to live in a “free country”, and a law forcing citizens to vote may be against America’s principles. Compulsory voting should

The balance between the duty of the government, both on a state and federal scale, and the citizens’ view of freedoms has been a continuous struggle throughout the readings. Although many members of America’s youth believe that their participation in politics is aimless, public opinion and voting are very important aspects of shaping the government. Without certain civil rights being granted by the government, these important rights of expression and suffrage would not exist.

In our system of government we are privileged with the option to take part in the political process that runs the country. It is our right to vote that lets the people influence change in policy and set the guidelines that politicians must follow to be elected representatives. This precious ability, which is most coveted in most non-democratic countries, is taken for granted in our own.

America is facing an all-time low in voter participation. Since 2014 the voting population has decreased by “thirty-six and four-tenths percent” (DelReal). Many theories explain the stigma of voting in America. According to the Wolfgang “the leading theory is: many minority voters are discriminated upon and do not believe their vote will count.” Many laws created infringe on the rights of Americans, however, when citizens do not vote the government seizes control on controversial issues , which in turn creates solutions that are less than satisfactory to the civilians.

With immigration policy being front and center, Americans find themselves in this 2016 election year with so many candidates and so many competing viewpoints. The sheer volume of election year rhetoric can be overwhelming, confusing, and sometimes downright nauseating. In his article “Imagining the Immigrant: Why Legality Must Give way to Humanity”, the emeritus professor at Dominican University of California, John J. Savant, expresses, “The world now watches to see how well our behavior will match our lofty rhetoric” (375). Americas have a duty to maintain the nation by exercising their right to vote. Specifically, a mandate to reform the current national immigration policies by electing politicians that will promote a secure border, while enriching the nation with an influx of tax paying, hard working, law abiding, peaceful and productive immigrants from impoverished neighbors, Such as Mexico and

In “Race and Beyond: Why Young, Minority, and Low-Income Citizens Don’t Vote,” Sam Fulwood claims, “Regardless of whether a favored candidate won or popular ballot initiative passed, our nation suffered because of the number of people who didn’t vote at all” (par. 2). I agree with Sam Fulwood and I believe it is so unfortunate that Americans don’t use this right. Voting is one of the most valuable possessions that Americans are given and yet they do not use. Many of the countries around the world do not grant voting rights to their citizens. These countries either have a dictatorship or kingdom which prevents citizens from voting. People need to understand the sufferings of those people who struggled for this right. When the United States

For example, immigrants should not vote, because simply it is not their country. Moreover, felons should not vote, because most likely, they are irresponsible to involve in the political activities. Second, the party system that the American government has; such as, democrat and republican. This system makes it easier for Americana to understand each other’s political opinions more clearly. Not only that, but also this system does not let one group dominate all government’s institutions by just one group, which motivate different group to compete with one

Voting relies on the quantity of votes cast for a leader, and it is this quantity which is the prime tool of the destruction of quality in society. She argues that this is because most voters “lack utterly in originality and moral courage.” 7 This commonly leads to the election of a leader who doesn’t reflect the will of the people. In contemporary politics, this thought proved to be true with the election of Donald Trump in America. The “majority represents a mass of cowards” who would willingly follow a leader who reflects their own ideas and beliefs. A secret ballot allows people to hide Goldman believes that the prevalent issue here is that the needs and opinions of the minorities are outnumbered by the obliviousness of the majority. This mass ignorance is due to the condemnation of independence of thought in society, as discussed in Minorities.

The citizens of the United States of America populate a very privileged nation relative to the majority of developing countries. Americans are able to exercise a multitude of rights. Despite having freedom to the most basic of rights, Americans do not take full advantage of their liberties. One such instance relates to American’s right to vote in elections. Presently, U.S citizens of differing heritage, skin color, gender, and social standing has the liberty to vote for the authoritative figures who will run their government at the local, state, and nationwide scale, yet very few U.S citizens are present at voting polls during off year elections. The cause of the nationwide absence at the polls is reflective of U.S. citizens’ distrust of the political system and their state of ignorance concerning current national issues.

Refusal to vote not only hurts our countries’ government, but this countries’ people as a

The right to vote for American citizens is the fifteen amendment of the United States constitution. In this amendment, no citizen may be deny to vote base on color or race. For this, many more citizens of the United States are able to vote, even if they are a minority. However, the United States does not have a high turnout rate on elections. As a result, voter participation has an effect on public policies; additionally, Americans do not have a strong ethical duty to vote. Therefore, politicians have the power to change concepts in the government. Nonetheless, Americans do not make voting a larger concern as other citizens from other country to vote.

Historically in America, voting has been a relatively discriminatory practice. It has limited and deprived many individuals of many diverse races, ethnicities, and walks of life from casting their votes to select the individual who they feel is most educated, and skilled to represent their interests. Not only has this been proven to be wrong by discriminating minority groups in voting, it also has proved to be a process, which minimizes the largest growing demographics in the country. Furthermore, with millennials growing to become more politically active, minority groups are becoming more politically involved than ever. Taking this into account an important question that is raised by the author William Eskridge in his book “Legislation and Statutory Interpretation” is “Would minorities be better off with more representatives who had to pay attention to their interests because they are a powerful and organized constituency, rather than with a few representatives of minority districts who specialize in protecting only their interests?” (Eskridge,Frickley,& Garrett, 2006, pp.55).

Citizen participation in the government is not a right given to all citizens worldwide. The model of democracy is often taken for granted by Americans, but the ability to elect government officials and voice opinions on government initiatives and referenda is an incredible opportunity in the United States of America. We, as citizens, have an ability to ignite change, reform the government, and build a country that we believe in and are proud of. Therefore, the right to vote should not be taken lightly. All people afforded this right should take full advantage of the opportunity and truly invest in the government. Political participation depends on multiple factors, one of the most influential being socioeconomic status.

Shklar, previously the John Cowles Professor of Government at Harvard University, draws attention to the way democracy and citizenship, specifically in the context of the United States, has often left the struggle for inclusion in citizenship up to minorities. She continues to show that this struggle for inclusion has left some social stigma against minorities, including Blacks and women, whose citizenship significance was based on their struggle for their right to vote. This exclusionary historical context sheds light on my third point of analysis of this paper which is the role of failed institutions in providing adequate political rights for a population but falls short of providing any policy recommendations to improve representation in

The American political system is incredibly convoluted, and continues to become so as constitutional rights are challenged. With civil engagement significantly lower in the United State than other reputable democracies, attempts to improve the system and increase public participation, political reformist have channeled their efforts to on the fundamental principles of US politics and other republic nations with who share the same values that are prevalent in a democracy. Throughout the semester, several of these values have been discussed however, the most important values fell under the following three categories: democracy, education, and legitimacy.