Comment on "Shake up the System"

In Melanie Warren’s blog titled “It is Time for Those Who Lead to Give a S***!” I totally agree that the local politicians are partly to blame when it comes to low voter turnout and for the politically uneducated masses.  I also agree that the Mayor and City Council members should take a more active role with educating the public and getting more citizens involved by knocking on doors, making phone calls, and making City Council meetings more accessible and less complicated.  However, there are many things that the rest of us can do to increase knowledge about state and local government.  Blogs like this are a great example.  If we have knowledge that we can share with our peers, we should do that more often.  I am sure that most people would be more motivated by someone that they know as opposed to a “dirty” politician who usually has an ulterior motive.

Secondly, the school system can do a much better job with adding political education to its curriculum.  I feel that Texas government courses should be required during elementary school and should continue each year or at least every other year until High School graduation.  The courses should focus on more than just the Alamo.  We need to start teaching children how to think critically during their formative years; they need to know about the history of the political process and how it works today.  They also need to understand the roles of the Mayor, City Council and other locally elected officials.  By doing so, our citizens would have a much strong foundation of knowledge in regards to the political process and hopefully, by the time they are of legal voting age, will be able to make well-informed decisions based on knowledge instead of how most people vote: superficial ideology or party affiliation.    

I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that discussed political issues regularly and my mother always reminded me how important it was to vote.  Even still, I am guilty of not keeping up with the city, state and county elections and other issues.  If it weren’t for me taking this class right now, it would be very easy for me to disengage from local politics, especially with the national election coming up this year.  Why is that?  I don’t think it is the politicians’ fault that I am not keeping up with current news.  I do believe that the media could play a much bigger role to help citizens become more aware of the issues at hand.  The media, especially TV, plays a huge role when it comes to educating the public.  The local news should take more time to profile candidates, talk about political issues and perhaps spend two minutes less on the weather (all I need to know if it I need a coat or umbrella) and use that time to educate the public about issues that affect voters and tax payers.

Like Melanie, I also believe “that people, if given the chance and the education, would answer the call and become involved.” But in my opinion, the  “monumental challenge” starts with us not them. By sharing information with our peers; adding more political curriculum in the schools; using media more effectively to educate the masses; along with Melanie’s suggestions…. Texas' government could better reflect its citizens' views and ideals in just a few short years.