Phillip Wittke

U.S. Government and Politics

Role of the Citizen/Technology
November 17, 2013
US.Gov, iPolitics, and the Role of the E-Citizen
Citizens of the United States can participate in our government in several ways. Among
those a citizen can attend a council or legislative meeting, vote for political representatives that
share their views, persuade fellow citizens to vote for the laws they support, and write to their
elected representatives to promote legislation they would like them to support. The ways citizens
participate in their government has been made much easier with the technology that exists today.
We now can communicate easier, get more information, spread ideas more quickly, and persuade
more people to support an idea.
The role of the citizen in the United States political system, is to practice our rights to
participate in our governmentand pay taxes. Participation by the citizens is very important;
people must provide input in order to display the needs of a local community, and these opinions
conglomerated will then display the needs of our national and global communities. It is the re-
sponsibility of the government to interpret these needs and determine the best medium between
the peoples diverse perspectives, and the factors that do not have a voice, such as the environ-
ment. It is important for as many people as possible to express what they feel will be the best
way to do things, so that a general consensus can be made. If nobody spoke up there would be no
way to prevent those in power or other influential people, from imposing decisions based on their
own personal agendas, that may limit or prevent someone else from living out their idea of the
pursuit of happiness. All citizens should voice their opinions and ideals, in order to prevent a cer-
tain group or groups from pushing selfish policies that benefit them and restricts others or goes
against the good of the rest of the people. In my opinion there are not enough people who partic-
ipate in government, and this has caused some undesirable legislation to pass both in the past and
in recent times. But that is beyond the scope of this essay.
With the advancements in technology, citizens can now provide their input and have a
much bigger influence on the government as an individual than ever before. With the technology
available today you can attend meetings broadcasted online; blog or post to social web sites to
spread ideas to large numbers of people; you can gather more information on those running for,
or that are already in elected positions; and we can pay our taxes all while sitting on your couch
in your underwear. Also, writing a letter to your representative, no longer requires you to leave
your house, get up to get paper or find a pen, or go to a post-office and pay for a stamp, you can
now complain to your government from the comfort of your own home, as long as you have ac-
cess to the internet. It has indeed never been easier to participate in politics. However, with all of
the entertainment available at our finger tips, and our attention deficit tendencies, I am curious as
to how many people actually utilize these tools and participate.
Technology has also effected our election processes and likely their outcomes as well.
Although, we have yet to start online voting, elected officials can persuade citizens through ad-
vertisements on T.V., and the use of social networks on the internet. On the other hand, the
media can denounce them and citizens can criticize them on the internet, which can influence
large numbers of people. In most elections, these advertisements can have a dominant effect on
who gets elected. Money is a large deciding factor in this. There are many people who would be
much better in office than those who have the adequate funding. I would think and hope that, in
time, people will begin to use the tools that technology has provided more and we may not be
limited to deciding on either, as my favorite television show, South Park put it, a turd sandwich
or giant douche. I would think that other parties would become better known, and possible even
given a more equal chance to win in elections or at the very least be heard, almost as much as the
typical Democrans and Republicrats that usually dominate the political races.
The role of the citizens, to participate in government, is one of the most important things
that can be done by an individual, that is too often neglected. If more people utilized the technol-
ogy that is available now to inform themselves and provide input such as by attending online
meetings, emailing representatives about things that should be changed, and use social media to
spread good ideas; government may be reformed to satisfy more people. Although not everyone
can always be happy, if more voices are heard, the compromises may suit more people, and new
ideas may also be brought in to resolve problems, that may not have been thought of before. Ad-
vancement in technology has its good points and bad. The availability of information and the
communication factors, are very beneficial, however, the distractions can be very negative in re-
gards to the role of the citizen in the United States government.