This week Delaware Governor Markell's weekly weekly message relates to civic engagement. He is specifically concerned about " attracting a new generation of our best and brightest to be involved in public service and engaged in shaping public policy." He said that in his recent visits to schools, he has " emphasized that civic engagement is one of the most powerful ways to give back to your community."
This address mirrors comments I have heard from a number of politicians, including from President Obama and Vice President Biden, namely encouraging young folks to appreciate the value of running for office.and pursuing political careers.
I think politicians feel the need to motivate folks to engage in electoral politics because so many bright young people are scared off due what appears to be a very bitter partisan nasty environment. I, for instance, always envisioned myself running for office. However, the notion that an opponent would devote immense energy examining my experiences looking for contradictions or something with which to embarrass me is almost enough to make me run in a cave. Indeed, many don't want the scrutiny.
However, having floated in an out of political arenas for the past twenty years, usually in the context of some sort of involvement in a campaign or advocacy for legislation or other government action, I have not found much need to worry that we lack members of the public motivated to serve in public service roles. My observation is that even school board elections remain competitive races.
Our state and federal Constitutions (structure of governing bodies) function properly only when the constitution of our body politic involves citizen involvement.
The term "civic engagement" embraces a number of activities. If I recall his work correctly, Robert Putnam's famous "Bowling Alone" argues that true civic engagement comes when members of society are actively involved with their neighbors discussing issues of public concerns and, when necessary, collectively organizing on issues of common concern.
Many, including Fareed Zakaria in The Future of Freedom have pointed out that the term democracy is often used to refer only to whether members of society vote for their political leaders, such that a government could conceivably be a democracy (at least technically) while also being repressive.
The American constitution, however, does not limit the citizens' role to voting. The First Amendment promises us the freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. Technically a country could be a democracy without these freedoms, but not our type of democracy.
Supreme Court precedent involves a plethora of disputes surrounding how to interpret these freedoms and their limits. In other words, we wouldn't be America if citizens weren't actively engaged in exercising these rights.
In America's Civic Health Index of 2006, drafted by the National Conference on Citizenship, only 26.7 of Delaware residents engaged in volunteering regularly, and voter turnout was 43% in 2002 and 62% in 2004. These are not good numbers.
In 2012, the Corporation for National and Community Service released revised numbers, finding 24.8% of residents engaged in volunteer service and only 8.9% of residents attended public meetings.
These findings tell me that Governor Markell should be less concerned about whether his citizens will run for his job when he retires, and more concerned about strengthening the democracy and democractic republican character of his population.
In no way is this article directed solely at Governor Markell. As I have said, advocacy towards encouraging young folks towards government service has been made by the likes of Presidents Clinton and Obama as well. And indeed, I don't mean to dismiss the remarks of these politicians, as they are often comments following questions about young folks being scared off by the rough political climate. However, I believe strongly that the a legitimate reversal of the Bowling Alone phenomenon will inherently lead to further interest in government service, and indeed may expand the interest in those positions among individuals of a whole variety of political perspectives.
This address mirrors comments I have heard from a number of politicians, including from President Obama and Vice President Biden, namely encouraging young folks to appreciate the value of running for office.and pursuing political careers.
I think politicians feel the need to motivate folks to engage in electoral politics because so many bright young people are scared off due what appears to be a very bitter partisan nasty environment. I, for instance, always envisioned myself running for office. However, the notion that an opponent would devote immense energy examining my experiences looking for contradictions or something with which to embarrass me is almost enough to make me run in a cave. Indeed, many don't want the scrutiny.
However, having floated in an out of political arenas for the past twenty years, usually in the context of some sort of involvement in a campaign or advocacy for legislation or other government action, I have not found much need to worry that we lack members of the public motivated to serve in public service roles. My observation is that even school board elections remain competitive races.
Our state and federal Constitutions (structure of governing bodies) function properly only when the constitution of our body politic involves citizen involvement.
The term "civic engagement" embraces a number of activities. If I recall his work correctly, Robert Putnam's famous "Bowling Alone" argues that true civic engagement comes when members of society are actively involved with their neighbors discussing issues of public concerns and, when necessary, collectively organizing on issues of common concern.
Many, including Fareed Zakaria in The Future of Freedom have pointed out that the term democracy is often used to refer only to whether members of society vote for their political leaders, such that a government could conceivably be a democracy (at least technically) while also being repressive.
The American constitution, however, does not limit the citizens' role to voting. The First Amendment promises us the freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly. Technically a country could be a democracy without these freedoms, but not our type of democracy.
Supreme Court precedent involves a plethora of disputes surrounding how to interpret these freedoms and their limits. In other words, we wouldn't be America if citizens weren't actively engaged in exercising these rights.
In America's Civic Health Index of 2006, drafted by the National Conference on Citizenship, only 26.7 of Delaware residents engaged in volunteering regularly, and voter turnout was 43% in 2002 and 62% in 2004. These are not good numbers.
In 2012, the Corporation for National and Community Service released revised numbers, finding 24.8% of residents engaged in volunteer service and only 8.9% of residents attended public meetings.
These findings tell me that Governor Markell should be less concerned about whether his citizens will run for his job when he retires, and more concerned about strengthening the democracy and democractic republican character of his population.
In no way is this article directed solely at Governor Markell. As I have said, advocacy towards encouraging young folks towards government service has been made by the likes of Presidents Clinton and Obama as well. And indeed, I don't mean to dismiss the remarks of these politicians, as they are often comments following questions about young folks being scared off by the rough political climate. However, I believe strongly that the a legitimate reversal of the Bowling Alone phenomenon will inherently lead to further interest in government service, and indeed may expand the interest in those positions among individuals of a whole variety of political perspectives.
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