UNIT 6

What do you think are the greatest challenges of American citizenship today?

– Why and how does constitutional democracy in the United States depend on the active participation of its citizens

– What are the advantages and disadvantages, if any, of being a citizen of both the United States and the state in which you reside?

United States Governments

1 national

50 state

89,476 local

http://www.census.gov/govs/www/index.html

Activity

• How many units of government are there where you live?

• Which units of government affect you the most on a daily basis?

• Which units of government do you care about most? Why?

Washington

1 state

39 counties

281 cities

1229 special districts

Citizen responsibilities

• Vote intelligently

• “Participate”

• Serve

Challenges of voting intelligently

• Understanding “the system”

• Information• News• Opinion• Advertising

• Making time

National elections

• President

• Senators (2)

• House of Representatives (9)

State elections

• Governor• Lt. Governor• Legislature• Secretary of State• Attorney General• Superintendent of Public Instruction• Treasurer• Insurance Commissioner• Auditor• Commissioner of Public Lands• Judges (superior, district, municipal, pro tem & 29 appellate)• Initiatives, referenda, referrals

Local elections

• Mayor• City Council/Commission• Municipal judge• County officials• Special districts

• School• Library• Fire• Water/sewer• Etc.

Participation

• Federalist #10

• Fundamental principles

• Enlightened self-interest

Seeking non-governmental solutions

• NGO’s– Ringo (religious)– Bingo (business)– Ingo (international

http://library.duke.edu/research/subject/guides/ngo_guide/

Service

• Jury service

• Boards/Commissions

• Private• Public

• Office holding

Dual American citizenshipDilemmas

• Hard to understand

• Conflicting loyalties/duties

Global responsibilities?

• Declaration of Independence

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Why bother?

Limited government assumes

citizen participation

“Ownership”

If we are not willing to rule in our turn, other men (Hegel’s civil citizens, professional politicians and professional revolutionaries, corporate bureaucrats, and so on) will rule out of theirs.  They will call us citizens, but we will be something less. Perhaps I should say they do call us citizens, but we are something less.  

Michael Walzer -  Obligations

An alternative view

We all must obey the

laws. Unless we care about

an issue or candidate, we

have no political obligations.

Voting and participation are

opportunities, not rights or

duties.

• Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

• Where. . . do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. . . Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.

Eleanor Roosevelt

• You could start by convincing a friend. Aung San Suu Kyi