THE POLITICS OF PARTICIPATION THE CIVIC MIND

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES The Bill of Rights contains the essence of the rights we are guaranteed. Speech, religion, counsel, to bear arms, privacy But with rights, come responsibilities What responsibilities do you think we have? Civic duty to vote Why? Obey the law Why? Prepare to be a productive citizen In what ways? Why? Be willing to step up and serve How? Why?

Preserve the Constitution What will that take? What if we don’t? Elect good leaders with sound character Know the issues that matter most An ignorant public is a blind public, willingly shackled and led by the neck with the leash of manipulation Serve in the military

POLITICAL PARTICIPATION Passive participation Learning, absorbing, preparing Reading the paper Watching the news Learning the issues Active Participation To engage in political activity meant to influence or change things

Conventional active participation Voting (most common form of active political participation) Volunteering to help with a campaign Donating $ to a candidate Law suits to change unjust laws Putting up a lawn sign Calling your Senator Writing letters to you Congresswoman Run for political office Unconventional active Participation Less common forms of political activism (protest politics) Protests Marches Sit-ins Boycotts Acts of violence

THE CONTEXT A free and open society is necessary Why? What is necessary for a free society to remain free? A free press (the media: newspapers, journalists, bloggers) Why? Only a free press can keep the government in check Inform the public Uncover scandal and misuse of power Reveal policy problems Identify worthy candidates We can only vote for change when the press reveals the change we need and reports on the conditions openly and honestly

ASSEMBLY 1 st Amendment right allows us to group together to increase the volume of our voices Right to join groups and special interests and political parties ACLU, PETA, Young Republicans, NOW, Sierra Club, The Communist Party USA Gangs? Why is this right so critical to our freedom?

HOW TO VOTE (EFFECTIVELY) Register Read up on the issues and candidates Watch the debates Listen to the “other side” Wait for the mail Sample ballot Voting location Other materials Go to appointed polling location at appointed time and stand in line Identify yourself and address Enter “booth” and follow the instructions on the machine to cast your vote You do not need to vote for everything on the ballot Get your “I Voted!” sticker

MEDIA UP CLOSE Is the media biased? Democrats: NO! News organizations are owned by Republican businessmen The media covers important issues and can’t help it if Republicans make a big hairy political deal of unimportant matters or makes Republicans look bad Some Democrats: Yes! Journalists are people too and have opinions and are biased and those beliefs and biases slip into the stories they cover

Republicans: Yes! Journalists are overwhelmingly Democrats and have liberal positions on abortion, capital punishment, marriage and voted overwhelmingly for Obama The news they choose to cover reflects their politics Obamas scandals largely ignored Chris Christy’s bridges scandal covered more than Obama’s scandals Conservative organizations identified much more often than liberal ones. ACLU vs. The Heritage Foundation