Research Paper on Political Participation

Introduction

The kind of political system exercised in America that which provides the opportunity to the citizen to be involved and participate in the public realm and public administration reflects on a system which the great heroes of the land who fought for freedom in the historical time. They wanted a nation which all citizens despite of their race, ethnic group, and social status have a voice in the continuous core matters of the country (Va Deth 1). The procedures of public participation range from formal to informal in all levels governance from local, federal, and states governments which impacts on the disciplines of political analysis, public finance, social welfare, health care system, international relations, and developmental projects among other arising issues. In the public participation in national matters, a significant link relies on between the free circulation of information between the elected or the appointed civil servants and the people. In which, variant knowledge are put together for the fulfillment of the common purpose of every citizen (Van 3). The people always want to know the extent of development in public infrastructure, healthcare system, finance, and laws of the nation. They also want to find out if the individuals in the political arena have worked for the achievement of their electoral manifestos and hold them accountable and responsible while in the public office.

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Currently, the government at all levels here in the US has stipulated procedures through which the citizens are involved in the governance of their community. The processes of the public participation in American Political System whether formal or informal assure the citizens of democratic political participation in management through representative rule, freedom of expression, transparency, and participation in the political process (Van 5). The methods of American citizens' involvement in the political regime, when categorized into ordinary citizen and wealth, can be summed up as follows.

Ordinary People Political Participation

Voting

Voting marks an integral part of the American citizen participation in the governance of the nation in which they elect representatives to run the public offices on their behalf. Voting is a right that is entitled to every American resident apart from the immigrants. Through the voting system, the American citizens hold responsible for a member selected to advocate for their interests at all levels of the government. Voting gives people an opportunity of making a difference to the community by ensuring that the person voted for tends to champion for a universal right of the majority. Voting is always procedural; hence it allows ordinary members to campaign for their favorite candidates and persuades other members of the society to vote in a certain way (Van 5). Particularly, convincing the community to vote for a particular member to take up a federal government, or state government position comes as a result of one's belief that the candidate can bring change in America. Although voting is an individual opportunity to bring change, it relies on the efforts of the majority to select the winning candidate for the majority. In which, a candidate with many individual voters wins the election to implement the rules and policies for the interests of its group. One of the most remarkable historical elections accounted in America was that of George Washington of 1788-1789, first ever unopposed presidential candidate. In this election, all citizens believed that Washington was the best option; thus, he had to contest for the election as the only candidate.

Special Interest Groups

More often, the government can listen and attend to the interests of a group rather than individuals ones. The collective bargaining and advocating for multiple interests has resulted in the lobby groups formed to champion for the needs of groups in the political arena (Pallet 65). The groups have played a significant part specifically in legislative amendments by bringing their particular concerns to decision makers to ensure that laws and policies tend to be lenient to them. Some of the known special interest groups include public interest groups that consist of activists who not necessarily seek profits from their demands but also for the general public wellbeing. The group might push the government to lower health care taxes or amendment of social benefit policies that benefit the general public. Also, another type includes the religious groups such as the Christian coalition which obtains support from the conservative Protestants and pushes for the amendment of the legalization of abortion, oppose the freedom of same-gender sex and drive for school prayers (Pallet 66). In consideration of this, special interest groups are formed from the efforts of the majority instead of an individual needs, thus, marks the importance in advocating for the needs as a group.

Strikes, Riots, and Demonstrations

The system includes mass action with a large group of people rioting in favor of a given political decision or pushing for their grievances from the authority. The demonstration process includes marching on the streets, conducting blockages and sit in's as well as carrying banners that portray the group's message (Vob and Amelung 756). Demonstrations can either be violent and non-violent depending on the situation which may intern requires intervention from the special anti-riot forces to stabilize the state. Here in America, demonstrations are usually organized with special interests groups such as the civil rights movements. The grievances of a mass are comfortable to be attended to, and the success of a demonstration depends on the individuals' turn out to the outcry for their social injustices. On contrast, if an individual made a personal demonstration on the street, it will lack the ability to capture the attention of the government as it will be presumed insane. One of the successful demonstrations seen in America is the Blacks Lives Matter movement which is subjected to the Zero campaign trying to fight against the police brutality and extrajudicial kills on Blacks. So far, the movement has blocked the presidential several Democrats' presidential campaigns wanting the political leaders to push for the implementation of policies that end police brutality and incarceration of the Blacks.

Going to Court

Although rare, ordinary people can move to the court to push for enactment of a particular policy, stop the passage of the law or request for the amendment of a section of code to suit the public or special group interests. However, in most instances it is difficult for a person to win a case against any government; thus, the procedure is not often the best of public involvement in political matters. Under this, other methods that can be substituted consist of the open state meetings and record laws in which regional governments organize for an open legislative platform where the citizen is informed of the stipulated rules and provide the legal standings which ordinary public can sue a violator of its rights. The organization of the open meeting and record laws was witnessed in the District of Columbia where a platform for state laws as a source of public information was erected. On the contrary, when it comes to a group of particular interest going to court in pursuit for policy amendment, the group has a high chance of winning for the rights of the majority (Van 3).For example, the professional group, America Medical Association has occasionally moved to court to oppose the creation of the national healthcare system as required in the Medicare bill.

Press Release

Here, the ordinary citizens are the source of opinion polls which form a significant background for the formulation, enactment, and amendment of policies. The surveys from print and electronic media provide facts and other sentiments which politicians use to formulate policies and rules (Wolfsfeld et al., 2099). For instance, when the public polls indicate that the ordinary people express concern about the economic infringement which is reflected in stunted economic growth, then the politicians will work on policies to enhance the economic growth and job creation. Equally, polls play a significant role in the election in which they set the political moods and politicians' stands during their political tenure. In which, politicians tend to go with the position of the majority to protect their political career in the next election period despite conflicts that might a raise between the politicians and their beliefs. The use of polls in governance was experienced in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's governance who admitted using polls to impact his rule.

Working on Public Projects

The most common public project that requires public involvement is the budgeting process in which ordinary people are expected to review and give their critique on the proposed budget. At least 17 states have made the budget hearing process a subject of the public review although the activity is often conducted with state agencies and the federal legislative members (Wolfsfeld et al., 2101). Here, whenever a public outcry is provided, the governor is liable in the amendment of the budget to ensure that it suits the needs of the community. However, an individual concern from an ordinary citizen will not have an impact on the formulated state budget, thus, not the budget policy.

Wealth Participation in Governance

Through Committees

The wealthy members of the community may form special congress committees that sit on the table with authority to enact and amend policies that suit their needs and the welfare of the public (Vob and Amelung 752). The needs of the wealthy range from the provision of private security, gun licensure, and taxation issues which are much out of the context of the ordinary citizens. The membership to their committees is through appointment as per the wealth status and knowledge of a person. Equivalently, such people are considered as investors instead of citizens since they play a significant role in the economy of the nation. Under the special committees of the wealth, the demands of a single member are given quite a cumbersome consideration although the final requirements of an entire committee are paramount. However, the individual lacks the power to impact the policy in the committee. For example, it is denoted that the appropriation Committee has a vast financial power as such it controls the entire spending policies of the nation.

Administrative Appeals

The wealthy individuals of the nations can make administrative appeals directly to legislative houses or agency without the necessity of judges to make the decision. In this process, the wealthy are given a chance to directly claim their demands to the agency and present evidence which is then reviewed by the authority for decision making. The tribunal committee listens to the groups demand and solves them faster compared to the process required with the ordinary people. In the process, an individual has an insignificant voice to change the decision of the authority when compared to the demands of a wealthy group.

Through Conferences

The wealthy people are given the first-hand opportunity of disseminating their concerns over issues to the administrative authorities through conferences. They make meetings directly with the president, governors, and head of the local authorities to channel their interests to them (Wolfsfeld et al., 2109). As such, they are given a first-hand consideration when it comes to the enactment and amendment of policies. In which the committee of the wealth, such as the Energy and Commerce committee may reject power rationing policies since it affects their businesses as such the bill is stopped. However, the individual issue cannot s...