Modies USA essay

Introduction

In the USA, there is a large democracy where citizens have many opportunities to participate in the political system to influence the government, including voting, standing as a candidate, joining interest groups and activism. While some opportunities are better than others, overall, the political system allows for citizens to successfully influence government decisions to some extent.

first half of voting

-One opportunity American citizens have to effectively influence the government is through voting.

• This can effectively influence the government as you get to choose representatives for the federal government, who will then lead the country.

• For example, you can vote for the president and congress, Donald trump is the current elected president of the United States, as he got 77,302,416 votes.

• This demonstrates that US citizens have opportunities to vote and influence government representatives.

second half of voting

• However, This opportunity can be limited due to disenfranchisement of convicted criminals. Which means that the person’s right to vote is removed due to a previous criminal conviction.

• For example, Nationwide, one in 22 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised due to having served time in prison.

• This is removing there right to vote which is an injustice to their humanity and dignity.

• Overall, I think that voting is limited as not everyone has the right to vote, meaning their voices cannot be heard which is completely unfair. This means that it is hard to influence the government through voting.

1st half SAAC

• One opportunity American citizens have to effectively influence the government is through Standing as a Candidate. Anyone born in the USA, is over 35 and has been a resident in the USA for the past 14 years can stand. Even running for president is virtually open to anyone including convicted felons.

• This can effectively influence the government as the candidate could influence locals of new ideas, so a larger amount of people stands up against the government. If the citizen is elected, they can directly influence government decisions.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an example of a Congresswoman who came from a very humble origin. She was working as a waitress when she began her congressional election campaign. In January 2019 she became the youngest female to hold congressional office. She did it without a personal fortune or a rich well-connected family.

• This demonstrates that anyone can become a largely influencing political figure if they want to as there are not a lot of restrictions on standing as a candidate.

2nd half SAAC

• However, the effectiveness of this opportunity can be limited because of the high cost of running a campaign.

• For example, Michelle who spent 3 million dollars on one local election campaign.

• This limits democratic participation as money is a big limiting factor on people standing as a candidate as it’s hard to source the large sum of money to make a good campaign.

• Overall, standing as a candidate is a very successful way to influence government, however if you don’t have as much money, it is a lot harder to influence government decisions.

1st half JAIG

• Another opportunity available to US citizens is Joining an interest group. There are about 23,000 interest groups available to join in the US, providing memberships to millions of Americans.

• Joining an interest group allows citizens to influence government because they can join a group that will be able to influence the government with their views and get them heard through policy related appeals.

• For example, the AARP is a group that represents older people post-retirement.

• This demonstrates that anyone can influence government as there are many opportunities to join lots of interest groups that represent your views. Interest groups are more likely to sway the government as they would listen to a group with a large number that impacts election results.

2nd half JAIG

• However, the effectiveness of this opportunity can be limited as most of the 23,000 interest groups are smaller than the AARP so they have far fewer resources to make an impact on decision making and can make their views be ignored by people in power.

• For example, Witnesses to Hunger, an advocacy organization comprised of low-income mothers and caregivers who experience food insecurity and poverty.

• This limits democratic participation as not a lot of resources is a big limiting factor on people joining an interest group because the US government ignores them as they are smaller in number that don’t impact election results as much and don’t have a lot of resources to gain government attention.

• Overall, I think that joining an interest group is very effective if you join a large well-resourced group, however if you join a small interest group that is not as well-resourced the government most likely ignores you and you can not influence the government. 

1st half activism

• A final opportunity available to US citizens to influence the government is participating in activism.

• Many Americans wish to influence decision-making as directly as they can, but not necessarily by joining an organisation or running for office. They will participate in activism. The right to protest is protected by the First Amendment of the US constitution.

• One way of participating in activism is through protesting. An example is the Black Lives Matter protests which erupted nationwide after the murder of George Floyd. An estimated 15-26 million people participated in these sustained protests, making it the largest protest.

• This demonstrates that activism is an effective way of democratic participation as it forces the government to listen what people have to say and encourages freedom of speech as people can fight for their beliefs.

2nd half activism

• However, the effectiveness of this opportunity can be limited as it does not always influence government decisions as politicians are not required to respond to protests.

• The 2003 Iraq War Protests saw millions of people march globally and across the UK against the impending invasion, yet prime minister Tony Blair and his government proceeded with the war regardless.

• This limits democratic participation as politicians are ignoring their own citizens which means they cannot influence government decisions if the politicians don’t listen.

• Overall, I think that activism is not an effective way of democratic participation as if politicians ignore citizens participating in activism which happens quite commonly they cannot influence government decisions and therefore cannot fight for what they believe in.

conclusion

Overall, the political system in the USA allows for democratic participation to a large extent for some forms. For example, voting is a common and the easiest way for citizens to voice there opinions and get to choose who runs the country, however unfortunately not everyone gets to vote due to things like Voter ID laws and disenfranchisement, which decreases the extent of which citizens can participate in the political system. Overall, the political system allows citizens to successfully influence government decisions to some extent.