Citizen Participation
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
John F. Kennedy
The might of "We the People" is so great that the makers of our constitution, which is the framework of the fundamental principles according to which a democracy runs, created its introductory statement, i.e., the preamble, commencing with these words.
When we say that democracy is the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, we should realize that there is a significant impact of people in running the government by electing the leaders who create laws that they feel are in the best interest of the people. Thus the significance of "Citizen Participation" should be well understood by every responsible being for the effective functioning of a democratic government.
Citizen Participation, also known as Public Participation, is referred to as citizens' involvement in public decision-making. The principle of public participation holds that those affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process.
Pew Research
For a long time, citizen participation has played a vital role in flourishing the idea of democracy by holding the governments accountable for ensuring the values the constitution promises. Albeit powerful, it is seeing a massive decline in the past few years. Empirical evidence gathered over the past half-century suggests that many citizens do not have a meaningful opportunity to participate in the ways that many democratic theorists require.
Despite being one of the oldest democracies globally, the United States trails most developed countries in voter turnout averaging at 55.70%, which is much lower than the global voter turnout average of 70.78%.
According to the 2014 survey on resident activity by the National Research Center, only 19 percent of Americans contacted their local elected officials over 12 months, and about 25 percent attended a public meeting. It only matters to people after laws come into place that citizens become aware of issues that negatively affect them. By this point, it's too late until the next election cycle.
The grave costs of not being engaged in political affairs at the right time are:
Social and economic inequalities
Misrepresentation and discrimination
Disruptive protests and turmoil
Decelerating growth and development
And, an overall lack of faith in the principles of democracy
Individuals with high levels of income and education tend to be much more likely to take part politically. Those with much less substantial income, or especially, education participate.
Pew Research
Five prominent reasons why citizens disengage or never engage at all in politics are:
Lack of Motivation: Maslow's hierarchy of human motivation needs asserts that humans tend to fulfill physiological needs like food and shelter much before engaging in other requirements like citizen participation.
Lack of Time: Often, people don't find time to deliberate on political affairs as they work excessively long hours and prefer spending the rest of the time in familial responsibilities and personal upkeeps.
Plenty of Distractions: We are flooded with a variety of sources of entertainment today. The news and media that were once considered a tool to encourage public discourse have become a distraction source.
Rise of the Age of Trolls: While social media is used positively by several individuals and organizations to pave the way to citizen participation, ruthless comments by faceless trolls who hide behind a digital veil discourage people who try to opine and engage in public decision-making.
Lack of Responsibility: People consider citizen participation as a task and not their duty. This feeling destroys the enthusiasm of doing something for the public welfare.
"Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it."
— Martha Gellhorn
To contribute to the prosperity of the nation, one must promote responsible citizen engagement in the following ways:
Be thoughtful and careful: Approach topics in a focused manner. There is a level of unpredictability innate in citizen engagement, so local governments must consider all possibilities and be sensitive towards introducing a new policy.
Provide residents with clear incentives to engage: Crowdfunding platforms' success has taught us that individuals will engage and collaborate toward solving challenges and innovation if there is incentive alignment. Focus on attracting meaningful discussions from the community by tailoring your message strategically as an incentive to contribute.
Provide easy-to-use platforms to engage: Use Technology & Social media to create constructive forums for public participation.
Protect and empower citizens: Be open to a diverse set of thoughts and create an environment where people can be themselves without fearing leaders.
The ultimate aim of citizen participation is to create a constructive world that feels like home to everyone residing.