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The Pros And Cons Of Political Participation

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Democracy is a system of government in which the power to govern is vested on the citizens. This power is exercised either directly wherein citizens reach a consensus to implement policies, or indirectly through the election of representatives who will act on behalf of the citizen's interest (Janda, Berry, Goldman, and Hula, 2012). In such states that have adapted democratic government, political participation is the hallmark of citizens' right and ability to exercise their power. The definition of political participation, as with all concepts of social sciences, is subject to debate since most social science concepts are subject to the changing norms of society and government. Thus, this paper defines political participation as a social phenomenon that takes on different forms which is used by citizens to influence government policies and politics. There are aspects that …show more content…

… By formalizing political participation through rules for suffrage and for counting ballots, electoral systems allow large numbers of people, who individually have little political power, to wield great power. (p. 164) Social and political groups are formed to convey political interests, these groups fall under the umbrella term “interest groups”. Interest groups are organizations composed of individuals who have similar political interests. These groups use a number of activities to influence government policy and decisions. Interest groups encompass different citizen groups in a society. These interest groups include representation of the grassroots level such as labor union and farmer groups, representation of business corporations, and representation of the common citizen concerned with government reform (Janda et al,

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One example of an interest group is AARP. AARP is a United States interest group with membership. It was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, Ph.D. And Leonard Davis. AARP has vast membership so it is able to generate its own income without being dependent on government grants or private donors. I read on Tuesday night on Facebook how disappointed they were in the Senate 's vote to proceed on the new healthcare bill and how they would inform 38 million members how their Senators voted so they could hold them accountable.

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In today’s government, there are two groups that can influence the way people vote for candidates in political races. They are known as a Super Pac and 501c4. Super Pacs are committees that became significant in 2010 after the court decision in the SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission (Super Pacs). A 501c4 is referred as “social welfare” groups. Their primary focus is to promote social welfare causes (Sullivan).

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An interest group is a group of people that tries to take action on a political issue or concern. The goal of an interest group is to recruit politicians as endorsements and persuade the government to take action on their respective issue. There are interest groups for mostly every issue or concern for the country. For example, the National Rifle Association and Brady Campaign are both interest groups that are concerned with gun control and gun violence. Both groups have stated their interests in influencing the American government to apply stricter gun laws and reduce the amount of shootings and deaths by firearms by a drastic margin.

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Dear Mr. President, Civic and political participation of the people in this nation is important in order to keep a functioning government and society. If the people of this nation ignores their civic responsibilities and don’t help make important decisions, then just a couple individuals are choosing who merits government positions. It 's our obligation as citizens to ensure our rights and take an interest politically. Lastly, civic and political participation is important because it allows people to be herd, to fight for justice and equality. What issues or events motivated the person to action?

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In everyday conversations a subject that frequently tends to arise is American politics. During these conversations a variation of sub topics often occur usually pertaining to the Army’s funding, elections, and the different political parties. One of these topics that tends to cause a lot of feuding is the different political parties. In my family alone, we partake in disputes based on our different political parties, I am a Democrat while my parents are Republican. Often, we participate in quarrels over different events that occur in society.

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Governmental power is often held by a few, and this also leads to problems as citizens feel that their voices are not being heard. This inequality is not seen only between people and the government, but also different groups of citizens today (gender, race,

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1. Interest group is a group of people that make policy-related appeals to government. They form groups to increase the chance that their views and thoughts will be heard more. They just want to influence the governmental decisions. They educate themselves and others about issues that affect them and try to enhance the democrats.

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Political Parties and Interest Groups Political Parties- are organizes groups that attempt to influence the government by electing their members to important government offices. (343) Interest groups- are individuals who organize to influence the government’s programs and policies. (A39) Between Political parties and Interest groups there a many similarities however the differences are also wide in range. Let’s start by stating their similarities.

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A political party has more influence on American political processes. In Chapter 6 of the W. W. Norton book, it explains what the goals or a political party and an interest group are while giving examples of what each of them is trying to accomplish. I will use this book to help example my arguments in the paper. Firstly, I would like to explain what an interest group and a political party actually is, and what are some differences between the two.

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Dipta Iftikhar PAF 1250 EMW Response Paper 4 Interest groups are formed to sway the public opinion on a specific idea or movement. They are inherently groups of fact speaking, clause finding propagandists who number close to 40,000 in the US. The main goal of interest groups is to change or lift legislations to better suit their ideals. This goal is achieved through a variety of ways, but more commonly through gaining access to politicians and persuading them either by factual or fiscal means, organizing groups to agitate and gain mass appeal by showing unanimity, or simply proceeds in legality and takes the issues or ideas to a court of law. These strategies are in reference to an ‘inside game’ and an ‘outside game’.

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4 But, collective influence of interest groups can definitely override individual citizen’s ability to influence politics. 2 They have such an enormous role today in

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Political parties and interest groups both play prominent roles in the government. Both are organized groups working toward specific goals, but each serve different purposes within the political system. They are working to achieve change in the government. Voters will tend to decide on a cause or a political party to support even before they know the candidate. Although political parties have similarities to interest groups, their difference is stated in their definitions.

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Interest groups in Texas are relatively powerful actors in the political process. Organized interest groups and their representatives, also known as “the lobby” participates in the policymaking and political processes in Texas. Interest groups provide critical channels for Texans to communicate their political preferences and attempt to influence government actors and their fellow

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In democracy the interest group and political parties represent a bridge in the government, they both have similarities, with same political interest and they Both have a group of people that working on their specific goals in government, nevertheless, they have the internal politics of each group and both tend to raise funds to achieve these goals. Regardless of their resemblance, however, political parties and interest groups are different organizations with different purposes in the political system of a country.

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“We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation.” (Marsalis). Politics influences almost everything we do in our lives and how we do it. Therefore, political participation in the American government, a democracy, is the best way to be the change you want to see in your community and in your country. One small yet important and effective way to do this is by contacting your government and voicing your opinions, and when I wanted to raise the issue of immigration reform for the DACA recipients, I researched the issue, wrote a letter, and sent it.

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