Citizenship Approved!

This past term in government my teacher challenged all government students to complete a modified form of the United States Citizenship Test, or simply put the Civics Test. There were many purposes for taking the test and also many valuable lessons learned. Overall, I felt as if the main purpose for us, as students of government striving to become responsible U.S. citizens ourselves, was to understand how difficult it is to become an American citizen. At the same time we needed to understand how highly sought-after citizenship here is in the United States too. To begin the topic of citizenship, we started by taking a practice quiz based solely off of each individual student’s common knowledge about the United States. After filling in all the answers we knew or attempted to guess on the quiz, we graded it; immediately after grading it most of us realized had we not been born in the states, then we wouldn’t have passed the Civics Test the first time around… and I think it’s interesting that our instructor really got the point across that it is not as easy as we envisioned to gain citizenship here. I’d say my favorite part of the unit was taking the test, learning all the information and then retaking the citizenship quiz and passing it. I felt a real sense of accomplishment and I too felt very proud “simulating” gaining my citizenship. Later Dr. Ostroff had shared with us in class that day how he’d been to one of the Citizenship Oath Ceremonies saying, “It was one of the best things I have ever experienced.” As he said this it spoke to me because even as Dr. O was just spectating in the crowd at the ceremony, he was moved by it; it was so moving in fact, that he followed up the last statement by saying to the class, “I was almost brought to tears and it is something I believe everyone should experience at least once in their life.” From taking the quiz and hearing these terrific experiences, I now hope that one day I may attend a ceremony myself.

People hold flags as they are sworn in as U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony on Tuesday, July 2, 2010 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

The process to becoming an American citizen is pretty complex but many say the pay-off and wait is much worth it. Since the process is very long, so I have left a link that can be found here on AllLaw.com that breaks it down step by step. On Quora.com, an interactive website that is available world-wide where users may pose questions and have them answered by users, I searched the question: What is it like to become an American citizen? One answer in particular that caught my eye was a response from a user by the name of Ann Cun. In her answer, she responds to the question saying, “It was a pretty freakin’ awesome experience for me personally.” This opening statement alone probably relates to a lot of others newly certified citizens as well, which is why I chose to read her answer. She proceeds in her reply telling her whole story and how she completed all her forms in college to file for citizenship and spent a lot of hard hours studying for the Civics Test. At the end of her answer she recounts her ceremony and how she felt during it saying, “I felt a great sense of pride and community” and when she said this, it was literally exactly the equivalent of how I had felt after passing the quiz. She felt as if the time she’d put in preparing for the test to gain citizenship had paid off.

Altogether I just thoroughly enjoyed the citizenship portion of the unit and thought to share my experience of it and compare it to that of someone who had done the actual process. It’s very interesting seeing how similar everything was although my experience wasn’t as significant as the real deal.

Becoming a Citizen

One can be a technically be a citizen, but if they do not practice their duties, are they really a citizen?  Government taught me not only the foundations of our government system, but also how to understand, manipulate, and follow it.  The thing I found most interesting was the election process.  Honestly, I didn’t know anything about the electoral college before taking the government course.  Knowing how the American government system works is the first step in becoming an active, and true citizen.  Furthermore, knowing how to find and understand information is what makes an active citizen unique.  Understanding the aspects of government is not small; there are many different components to it, but with the use of new information mediums, it is a reasonable task.  The use of internet allows access to an abundance of information and must be utilized by an active citizen.

Electoral College

Elections represent the founding spirit and beliefs America abides by, and are arguably the most significant facets of our society.  To begin, when looking at the electoral college, I was surprised to find a vote really isn’t a direct vote for the president.  At the same time, votes are the solely the most important part of a democracy, and passively sitting back defeats and purpose of the system.  Understanding what one’s vote is actually doing, as well as the power behind it is what makes a true citizen.  The interactive part of our course where we made predictions on the outcome of the 2012 election was especially interesting.  Looking at all the different information at hand, and then coming up with conclusions was really helpful in understanding what exactly was going on.  It was also exciting on the election day to see who was wrong or right (my predictions were correct as usual).  With all the excitement wrapped up in that, the use of technology was a refreshing outlet for all thoughts and opinions.  Most teachers neglect to follow the technological world, and the integration of Twitter was exceptional.  As a student, I was exposed to endless viewpoints from real people, and as a citizen I was able to conclude rational things based on the information at hand.

The word refreshing describes that technology is not used enough in the classroom.  There is quite literally endless amounts of knowledge, and information provided though this medium.  Technology adds fuel to the engine that is a student’s brain.  When they think that they are doing something just for a grade, the ethics are not as enthusiastic.  The internet backs assignments with reason and cause because of an audience.  Using the internet as a medium also allows group collaboration between peers, and even outside sources.  This is a valuable asset to current learning.  I learned not only how to access the internet and manipulate for my on benefit, but also how to collaborate and gain new perspectives.  All this information is necessary for a citizen to participate properly in government.

Participation in voting, although increasing, is below 70%
American citizens need to be more active and understand their role

After understanding where to find the information, as well as learn all the facts, a citizen must understand the importance of using these facts, and the role they play in society.  The Presidential elections is an obvious example of the necessity a citizen plays, but is only one of many.  Understanding votes is easy, but there so many other ways to get involved in elections.  The basis of getting involved in elections is through the pathways of actions (court, grassroot-mobilization, cultural change, lobbying, elections).  These are the main seeds which have endless potential for growth.  Elections are one of the pathways for a citizen to get involved.  Deciding who to vote for is the first main issue a citizen faces.  Grassroot Mobilization is a way to draw attention to a candidate.  In addition to all the other pathways in government, I learned that a citizen must take an active role using pathways to become an avid voter. Voting is only a start to getting involved in elections, there are many other aspects a person can get involved in, especially in media and internet.  Insight on how elections work is just one example of the importance of a citizen.  The fundamental of American government is the citizen, and knowing one’s value is key.

Overall, the use of internet was the most unique, and boundless part of the course.  Through it I rediscovered a new area of knowledge, and interaction.  It has helped me become a well rounded citizen, and gave insight to information I didn’t understand before.  Taking a passive role as a citizen nulls the efforts a democracy creates.  Additionally, taking an active role as a citizen but remaining ignorant is just as bad.  Not participating as a citizen cancels the idea, ideology, and overall beliefs of America.  Active involvement in government, in addition to knowledge is essential for the system to work properly.  Information is readily available to anyone who seeks it; government has taught me that.

Participation in the election process is one key role an active citizen must engage in

Congress: Understanding the Process

In Government class this trimester we examined the U.S. Congress, a topic I find interesting because it is the field I knew the least about when we started this unit. News and information about Congress do not draw much media attention, making it difficult for me to have a basis of knowledge coming into this unit. I felt this unit was especially important because I felt like it was my responsibility as a United States citizen to learn about the foundations of Congress.

The first subunit within the unit of congress was representation. Here, various styles of congressional representation were presented. They include: The Delegate Model of Representation, which is the perspective that the legislator should work to recognize the will of the people and act accordingly. I think that this is the worst way for congress to represent the people. Although the voters are responsible for putting the delegate in office, sometimes the public’s opinion cannot or is just wrong to pursue. The delegate is the political expert and he/she should be able to blend in their opinion in with the public’s opinion. The Trustee Model of Representation, which is the perspective that the legislators should listen to the needs of the people, but ultimately act in relationship to what is best for the nation. I think this style of representation is wrong because sometimes what is best for the nation can hurt the people. A balance needs to be found between helping the people and the nation rather than just acting in blindly in one direction. This Politico Model of Representation, which is the perspective that legislators should feel free to follow their own judgment on matters where the public remains silent. This viewpoint is basically the opposite of the Delegate Model of Representation. I think that it’s obviously wrong to completely disregard what the public’s stances are on policies and I think democracy has a way of getting rid of those types of candidates. The Conscience Model of Representation, which is the perspective that legislators should follow the will of the people unless they truly believe it is wrong to do so. Here is the best model of representation, in my opinion. In this model, there is a balance between the people’s views and the legislator’s views. Lastly, there is Symbolic Representation, which is legislators speaking on the behalf of groups they belong to, including their demographic group. I think it is important for people to speak out for groups they belong to. Though I don’t think this is the best model, being aware of the feelings and positions of other groups is vital to keeping peace within America.

The third subunit within the unit of congress was committees. Since the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 was passed, every piece of legislation introduced for consideration in Congress must first be referred to a committee. Meaning that committees hold the true power within the U.S. Congress. In order to understand the roles of committees in congress, the class analyzed Woodrow Wilson’s “Congressional Government.” From this excerpt I learned that the true leaders of congress are those who are the chairmen of the principal standing committees. This is a problem because as Wilson states, “It is this multiplicity of leaders… [that] makes the organization of the House too complex to afford uninformed people and unskilled observers any easy clue to its methods of rule.” The problem is that the number of the heads of committees is too big for American citizens to keep up with. If there was a distinct and conspicuous figure in congress, people might have an easier time following the course of legislation without any confusion. Also, Wilson adds that, “Each Committee goes its own way at its own pace.” Though the committee method of leadership in legislature is organized it is disconnected and unsystematic. The key to progress is unification. It is sad to see “thousands of bills expire with the expiration of each Congress, not having been rejected, but having been simply neglected.” I completely agree with Wilson and think the committee leadership mechanism of congress should change. I know every bill cannot be looked at, but at least an attempt should be made to reshape the system.

Participating in this unit not only advanced my learning, but also made me feel stronger in the sense that I was fulfilling my duty as a citizen of the United States. Becoming knowledgeable of the democratic system is not only important for academic reasons, but for personal reasons too. In the near future, my classmates and I will actually BE apart of this system and hold the responsibility to vote. With the guidance from this course, I have gained a greater understanding of the process of government that will allow me to be a better citizen in the 21^st Century.