My experience of political participation was definitely different than what I thought would be. Before starting the community service required to finish the community service, I believed that political participation would be boring and would not be entertaining. I was deeply mistaken and I now realize that political participation is so much more that the community and a bunch people trying to govern this state and country. My three month experience of political participation has taught me that the United States government really starts with the people and ends with the rule or law that the people want. For example, the countless registration drives and information drives held annually would never exist without citizen's who support their country. Just imagine a scenario where no one participated and voter registration drives are a thing of the past, this scenario would definitely result in a U.S. government that will not represent the people and most probably be a unitary government.
To achieve the community service hours required by the history project, I participated in multiple political projects. The first project I participated in was a voter registration drive before the Midterm Elections in 2010. Since the drive took place on the first of October which was close to the Midterms (only four days away0, and because the majority of the people already registered at previous drives, we did not have many people register. However, we improvised our voter registration stand to advertise the DVUSD Over Ride. This littler improvisation to the project compelled me to realize that political parties also make mistakes by organizing something that might not have significance on that day, but they are always allowed to change the subject or event they are sponsoring to attract people. I also learned that most of the people will decline the information respectfully, however not all people have that sincerity and will become angry at you and whatever you are supporting. So, the next you are at a political event, please approach people with caution and always be prepared for the worst. Voter registration helps the society by enticing citizens to register so they can vote for the political system.
The second project I participated in was advertising the Political Panel the Boulder Creek Politico Club was sponsoring on the twenty fifth of October. Advertising an event is a very arduous task, especially when you know that the event you are sponsoring will be considered by the people who are interested but will not attend because you know that it will be difficult for them to attend the Panel. We attempted almost everything to compel people to attend the Political Panel, even placing the flyers on people's cars during the football game. Unfortunately, our tactic did not seem to work because not a lot of people attended the meeting. I realized if political and interest groups do not advertise the bills they support, then not a lot of people will vote for them. The U.S. federal and state governments will be negatively affected if the groups do not reveal who or what they support.
The Political Panel was the third project I volunteered at to complete the required to ten hours to successfully complete this project. To prepare for the political panel, students had to 'beautify' the large auditorium by removing the furniture such as the chairs and plants. The Panel started after we temporarily renovated the auditorium to a more political environment. Unfortunately, even after heavily advertising the Political Panel at the football games and the homecoming assembly, we did not see many people attend. Also the Republican party members failed to attend (except for one, who had to immediately leave), which inadvertently caused a one sided panel, where the Democratic candidates agreed with each other. Even though many people did not attend and the Panel seemed one sided, the event still showed me why national debates and political panels are important is because they allow journalist and citizens (at panel's only) to ask controversial and important questions that occupy all areas of the government. Without the debate or panel, many citizens would be clueless on who they support as a candidate and which propositions they support.
I served the last of my hours by observing an Anthem HOA meeting on the 2 of December. The HOA meeting allowed me to experience first hand how a truly organized group meets and what they discuss. At the HOA meeting they were discussing building a multipurpose center and and performing arts center to attract visitors and the raise the house value in Anthem. The HOA meeting was kind of similar to the panel where Anthem residents were allowed to ask questions or comment whenever they want. The Anthem HOA meeting also showed me that these projects will never be approved if the residents do not agree with it. This same thing happens at the state and national level where propositions and candidates will never succeed until they entice the voter.
The political events I participated in to complete my community service hours for history showed me that the simple events I took part in are actual every day events that run this country. Without the simple notion of politically participating, the nation would eventually wither because the nation is literally rum by the people. You can observe from the Anthem HOA meeting that people, in this case residents, have to agree before the governing body can take any action. We should all be gratefulfor this process because not all countries give their citizens and residents as much say in their government than the U.S.
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