What I Did…
I completed my community service hours through political participation. I did so by passing out flyers at football games and setting up for as well as attending the 2nd annual Political Panel at Boulder Creek. My first two and a half hours were spent getting people to register to vote. It was not very successful; one person started filling out the paperwork but then realized that she didn’t know what her social security number was so she stopped. During this time Ashley Garcia and I also walked around with DVUSD override flyers and passed them out to freshman football game attendees. Most people took the flyers but some ignored us completely. My next two and a half hours were spent doing the same thing as the first hours, the only difference being that we were at a Varsity football game. The final 5 hours of community service that I completed were done so at the political panel. I helped move chairs to the auditorium, set up the table that the representatives sat at, organize the stage, and watch the same party “debate”. Overall, the purpose of my service was to increase voter awareness, promote the political panel, and inform people about the DVUSD override.
Passing Out Flyers
9/29/10 & 10/15/10
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| 9/29/10 Passing out flyers for the DVUSD override before a Freshman football game |
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9/29/10 The actual DVUSD override flyer. |
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9/29/10 Ashley and I talking about what we were going to say to people and how excited we were to be there :) |
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9/29/10 Thumbs up for passing out more flyers! |
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| 10/15/10 Ashley and I waiting for more flyers. I'm standing right behind Erin. |
Political Panel 10/25/10
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| Walking to the auditorium to start the political panel discussion! |
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| Ashley, Mr. Huff and I setting up for the Political Panel. |
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| Chillin' at the table while we were setting everything up. |
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The actual political panel. (View from the audience). Lori was giving her apology for not being able to stay. |
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After the panel! |
Analysis of Political Participation
Volunteering, whether it is a result of wanting to fulfill your civic duty or promote political programs or ideas, is done because you want to personally be responsible for a change in the world. The change may sometimes seem trivial, but in the end it really is something significant. A difference is made, and a life is changed. The central theme of my community service project was political participation. I chose to partake in this because I wanted to learn more about what politics were really about from a first hand experience while assisting with some sort of project to better society.
In order to further understand the “art” of politics one must observe them and participate in them. In order to submerge myself in the political world, I joined the Politicos club at school. Through it, I volunteered to pass out flyers, inform voters on the details of certain legislation pieces, get people to register to vote, and attend a political panel. In those ten hours of service I certainly learned a lot. For the first time in my life I saw what a voter registration packet looked like, I learned how to successfully pass out informational flyers (and actually have people listen to me), and what it is like to sit in on a political panel and how much time and energy go into planning them all. My community service may not have made a huge impact on society as a whole, but it certainly did play a beneficial role in improving it.
During the flyer distribution our main goal was to inform people about the Deer Valley
This service is important to society because it directly affects what happens to it. Without political participation only a select few would be informed of what is going on with the government. This would result in a significant impact on the well being of society as a whole because the decisions would be made by a small group of people.
Playing a role in politics is advantageous to the general population. It allows everyone to make more informed decisions on issues and increase their internal efficacy. By increasing political participation among the nation, everyone benefits. It would promote legislation and allow for it to be known on a higher level, and the population as a whole could vote for or against it instead of just a small pool of voters. After volunteering I realized the true impact of politics. As dirty as they may be sometimes, without them, we would not be as far as we are today. They are simply our way of life.
Summative of Political Participation
In a land of democratic ideals and governing, political participation is a fundamental concept that ensures that everyone has the opportunity to be represented on a more personal level. Political participation is self explanatory. It is the participation in politics by oneself. It can mean a wide range of things including, but not limited to voting for representatives, forming political groups, and participating in legal or illegal protests. (Shapiro and Winter, 4). There are two main affects of political participation: having an impact on government policies and influencing one’s satisfaction and happiness. Each can result in a positive impact in society whether it be on a local level or national level or through self inflicted satisfaction; when given the option to participate voluntarily there is generally a more positive relationship between the country and its people.
Political participation is far more important than many people make it out to be. Those who play a role in it are the ones who get laws passed and help provide services for the rest of society. In the past few decades voter turnout has remained at about 50 to 60 percent of those who are eligible. (Duquette, 17). Only around half of the population takes advantage of their right to freely vote and make a difference. Without political participation, nothing would get done because people would not be voting or forming interest groups to promote ideas and ensure that the right people are in office to make their wants realities. Progress would cease to exist. By partaking in activities relating to politics such as being a member of an interest group, people can have a more personal relationship with their government and make a greater impact on society that they can take some credit for.
The benefits from individual participation are also noteworthy. Frey and Stutzer write “[P]articipation and autonomy in decision-making provide procedural goods that serve innate needs of competence, autonomy and relatedness and thus contribute to individual well-being” (Shapiro and Winter, 16). This simply mean that by individuals involving themselves in and immersing in politics, they will experience personal gain because they have a sense of doing right and making a difference. They feel important; what more do most humans want than that? Nothing. As Mahatma Gandi once said, ““Be the change you want to see in the world.” You can accomplish anything if you make an effort to do so.
Works Cited
Duquette. AP Government and Politics Curriculum Binder. Print.
Shapiro, Rebecca, and Matthew Winters. "Political Participation and Quality of Life." Political Participation and Quality of Life. Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubWP-638.pdf.
