Well, it's the day after Election Day, 2012. In case you're woefully out of the news loop, Governor Romney, the Republican candidate for United States President, has conceded the election, and President Obama, the incumbent Democratic candidate, will be confirmed for a second term in office.
I'll be honest with you--I've been really uneasy throughout this whole election year. Perhaps it's because I recognized that, because I am a job-working, tax-paying American (at a public institution of higher education, no less), I would need to get out and vote in this election. It was time, this year more than any other, for me to take up the mantle of so many Americans before me, that of the voter--a mantle that many American men and women have fought for in the past 300 years. So the deep, (almost) grown-up parts of me recognized that I had/have a responsibility to pay attention to the candidates, pay attention to the issues; just pay attention.
I'll be honest with you again--I don't think I paid ENOUGH attention. Yes, I informed myself well enough to cast my vote for President of the United States.
BUT--and here is the crux of my whole post--what about everything else? I think that we, the American people, were VERY well-informed about the importance of exercising our civic duty--and did exercise it--in voting for the next President of the United States. However, I think we (and I unequivocally include myself in this "we") managed, somehow, to forget that "civic duty" encompasses SO MUCH MORE than making a mark on paper for the next President every four years.
So consider this post a challenge--not just to you, the reader, but also to me, the writer, because I need to work on this too--to truly understand what it means to be a responsible and dutiful citizen of these United States.
1. Government consists of more than the President of the United States.
I almost didn't vote this year. And a huge majority of why I almost didn't vote was because "President" was just one mark on my ballot, a ballot that also included U.S. Senators and Representatives, State Senators and Representatives, local and state judges, county clerks, county treasurers, city council-members, and the local school board.. I imagine that YOUR ballots looked just the same. So here's my question--when was the last time that I, we, informed ourselves about state and local elections? In our tweeting/Facebooking mania about politics, when was the last time we had an informed opinion about who our next mayor or city council-members should be? How many of us can name not just our U.S. congresspeople, but our state congresspeople as well? I sure can't. And I think that's a travesty, that we can gear ourselves up SO MUCH about who our President is going to be, but we forget that our mayor, our city council-members, our county sheriffs and clerks, our governors and lieutenant governors, are going to have more of a direct impact on our everyday lives than the President EVER will.
Lest we forget the Tenth Amendment to our U.S. Constitution:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Yes, the national government reserves a lot of powers to itself. But all the other decisions are left to the non-national governments in the U.S. So, let's challenge ourselves to GET INFORMED. Let's learn about what our governors and lieutenant governors, our state congresspeople, our mayors, our city council-members, our county clerks, and our local school boards are doing. Let's have as much (if not more) of an opinion about who gets to run our cities, counties, and states as our country as a whole!
2. "Civic Duty" means more than just voting.
This is a big one, y'all. And again, this is as much a challenge to me personally as it is to those of you who need/want it. When we take to our social media platforms to encourage our fellow Americans to get out there and VOTE, but then the other 3 years and 364 days of the election cycle we do not involve ourselves in the affairs of our cities, counties, states, and country, that's being as negligent of our civic responsibilities as if we didn't vote at all (and hey, some people choose not to exercise the right to vote AT ALL for various reasons, and I respect that personal choice). But, as I said, "civic duty" means SO much more than voting.
a. It means understanding local and state politics. See my point above--the government is made up of SO much more than just the President of the United States, and in order to be good citizens of our country, states, counties, and cities, we should know, have an opinion, and care about what's happening right in front of us.
b. It means supporting or serving in the military. Now, serving in the military is NOT a civic duty that all of us should take up; I myself will probably never be more than just a common citizen of these United States. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I cannot and should not support our active duty troops in whatever ways I can. Whether you agree with it or not, we are still in war-time right now as a country, and we still have members of our armed forces serving domestically and internationally. Let's show them that we appreciate their sacrifices on our behalf, shall we?
c. It means making your voice heard. Voting for public officials is a HUGE way to make your voice heard, and I'm so proud of all of my fellow American citizens who chose to exercise that right. But you know what else is a way to make your voice heard? Write letters to your congresspeople. Go set up an appointment with your local, state, or national public officials and see if you can talk to them for 5 minutes about something that's important to you. Exercise your right to free speech, even in public protest if that's how you want to do it. I know ALL of us have opinions about the way our governments should be run every day of the year, not just on Election Day. Let's exercise our First Amendment rights and make those opinions heard. We can't hold our elected officials accountable to their constituencies unless we, the constituents, let our elected officials know what we want.
d. It means serving your community. The word "civic" means "of or pertaining to a city" and "of or pertaining to citizenship" (thanks, dictionary.com). So yes, voting is a huge piece of our civic responsibilities--we have a responsibility to make our opinions known as to who should lead our governments, state and local. But citizenship means SO much more than just who runs the government; citizenship means being a part of a community. We have not only rights and privileges; we also have responsibilities as citizens of our cities, counties, states, and United States. And one of the biggest responsibilities we have is to serve our community. Whether you're a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, or undecided; whether you're a conservative, moderate, or liberal; whether you're young or old; whether you're a temporary citizen of your town (hey college students!) or have lived there for 30 years, get out there and serve. Serve through a church, serve through a non-profit. Volunteer your time, volunteer your money. Serve soup at a soup kitchen; be a mentor for young men and/or women in your community; clean up a public park. Give your energy to a charity or cause you care about. When a natural disaster strikes, help out. When your fellow U.S. citizens need a helping hand, be there. This is not only a civic responsibility; I think this is a responsibility we have to each other as human beings.
This has been a long post. But, as the random high school student in the movie Mean Girls said, "I have a lot of feelings."
I hope I didn't offend anyone through this post; that hasn't been my intent. If you are already practicing the full responsibilities of being an American citizen, THANK YOU! Thank you for doing it, and for serving as the BEST example for me as I discover the full extent of what it means to be an American.
I think, really, the ultimate feeling behind this post is.... it's GREAT that we, the American people, live in a country that gives us so many rights and priviliges, and the freedom to exercise them. But, in the words of my favorite mantra (slash Uncle Ben from Spiderman),
With great power comes great responsibility.
Let's be responsible, y'all.
