Political Participation: The Private Citizen's Active Engagement in Activities

Question One 

Political participation is the private citizen's active engagement in activities that shape, involve, or influence public government officials' election or how the latter execute their duties. The involvement in citizens' political participation is essential because it accords citizens a voice to control how the federal and state governments perform their responsibilities. Additionally, political participation is necessary because it is the fulfillment of a citizen's constitutionally protected duty. 

Question Two 

The overall number of voters in the United States increased between 2008 and 2016 because of increased citizen awareness of political participation's essentiality to govern state and federal activities ( Delgado, 2016) . In 2008, the United States had 3 million voters, and in 2016, the total number of registered in the country was 3.5 million. 

Question Three 

Illegal participation is the involvement of citizens in law-breaking actions to influence the political sphere when legal platforms have failed. Instances of unlawful participation include sabotaging campaigns, terrorism, and political assassinations.  

Conventional participation is engagement in legal activities to shape the political environment by good, law-abiding citizens ( Spark notes, n.d.) . For instance, voting or volunteering to campaign for a preferred candidate is conventional political participation. 

Unconventional participation is the involvement in legal but inappropriate actions to influence government activities. Examples of unconventional participation include supporting boycotts and signing petitions.  

Question Four 

People engage in political participation for reasons such as: 

Responsibility-Citizens may feel responsible for exercising their democratic rights, which propels their involvement in political participation.  

Idealism-Individuals may engage in political participation to advance an idea they strongly believe in ( Pew Research Center, 2019) . 

Enjoyment-Citizens may participate in meaningful political activities because they enjoy them or are likely to make new friends during political participation. 

Self-interest-Citizens may also participate in advancing their interests over that of the general public. 

Question Five 

Some of the ways a citizen could participate in political activities include: 

Voting 

Boycotting government directives 

Contacting government officials even through social media platforms 

Signing petitions 

Attending demonstrations 

Volunteering during campaigns 

Guerilla gardening ( Van Deth, 2016). 

Attending suicide protests 

Attending political party rallies 

Posting political blogs. 

Question Six

I would consider being engaged in political participation beyond voting for various reasons. For instance, public policies, such as the price of education and healthcare, impact me directly and mandate I advocate for myself if the state or federal governments set exorbitant costs for the above services. Therefore, if attending suicide rallies, signing petitions, or posting blogs on the detrimental outcomes of high-cost education or healthcare would result in reduced prices to increase citizen affordability, then I would be gladly involved in political participation to advance my interests. Furthermore, political participation beyond voting accords me of voicing my opinion on how government officials conduct their official duties, such as resource allocation, policy creation, and advocating for justice, equality, and fairness in the society. Therefore, I am likely to involve myself in political participation beyond voting to achieve the outcomes highlighted above.  

Question Seven

I want to participate in influencing public officials' actions by signing online or physical petitions whose results will benefit the citizen. For instance, I would gladly sign a petition to increase employment opportunities for graduate students and immigrants. Additionally, I would sign a petition to increase funding for constructing permanent shelters for the homeless. Finally, I would sign a petition to reduce college education costs to help bright students from low-income households to increase their likelihood of attaining higher education.  

References 

Delgado, J. (2016, January 12).  The importance of political participation after the election . The Arizona State Press.  https://www.statepress.com/article/2016/12/sppolitics-political-participation-after-elections 

Pew Research Center. (2019, December 31).  Section 8: Politics and political participation . Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy.  https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2009/05/21/section-8-politics-and-political-participation/ 

Spark notes. (n.d.).  Political culture and public opinion: Political participation | SparkNotes . SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides.  https://www.sparknotes.com/us-government-and-politics/political-science/political-culture-and-public-opinion/section4/ 

Van Deth, J. W. (2016, November 22).  What is political participation?  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics.  https://oxfordre.com/politics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.001.0001/acrefore-9780190228637-e-68