Speaking from personal experience, democracy never stood out as a concept that I felt pertained to me as an individual, let alone as an incoming college student who had just turned eighteen. It wasn’t until I had a professor speak to our class on how our nation’s government uses democracy as our system of handling government elections, and politics in general within the U.S… I was baffled when she used a Wikipedia definition to explain democracy to us.
Democracy can be defined as a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. Pretty straight, forward right? Our ‘trustworthy resource,’ Wikipedia, continues to define democracy as the process of citizens acting as a whole in terms of forming a governing body, voting on various issues. Citizens elect other citizens as representatives who they believe will represent what they stand for and will hopefully benefit the nation as a whole.
Are you still with me? Good. Taking that definition, my professor told our class to sit down and think. Think about the power we as citizens have. Think about where our nation is right now. What’s impacting you personally? What’s impacting those around you who you care for? Those who you don’t know? What issues are you passionate about? What issues do you want to learn more about? How can you use your voice and rights for good to make it count for what you stand for within this nation?
This next part is truly what hit me, leaving the greatest impression of democracy for me. With our system of government, we have the power to vote, to choose, and to make our voice heard. However, just because we are making ourselves be heard and expressing our views, does not mean we should attack and degrade those who may not see eye-to-eye on the same issues and topics as we do.
Life is full of choices. People choose to vote. People choose to stand up for what they think is right. People can also choose to make something that has the potential to be beneficial to all and make it run dark. When focusing on democracy, I want to challenge all you Texas voters in two ways.
1.) EDUCATE YOURSELF: Find what issues you care about and want to see a change in your homes, communities, cities, and nation. Learn who in politics can represent you, and if you feel like they’re the right candidate who will truly help your voice and the voice of others, heard throughout the nation.
2.) WALK WITH AN OPEN AND RESPECTFUL PERSPECTIVE: Everyone has a voice, and every single one should be heard. However, that doesn’t mean one voice should denote and attack another voice for an opposing view or belief. Rather than channeling that anger or frustration into an argument, a politically fired tweet, or even muffled commentary, use your voice to question and learn from those who view different than you do. We know it’s hard, we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t. But there’s already so much hate, so much hostility, and so much negativity in our modern nation. That doesn’t mean those subjects can be repaired and improved on. Rather than having the mindset of arguing, have a conversation. Take in the information and views from others with an open mind. See people’s perspectives and how they differ from yours. You don’t have to like what others say, but it goes a long way when you can show a common ground for respect. Being the bigger person, especially within the political sphere, can go a long way and promote more peace in an already tense environment.
-C.A.
-Edited by R.W.