A Consideration of Definitions and Meanings
You may have noticed that I am attracted to phrases like active democracy and active citizenship.
We seem to be pretty much on the same page as to the meaning of "active" which includes concepts like: "capable of functioning," "causing movement or change," "participating," and like that, right? And also we have in common the idea that the U.S. has been and pretty much is a republic. A republic being a situation being in which representatives and leaders are directly chosen by citizens and have their position at the will of the citizenry. No situation being static. The originators of republics did not what theocracies, dictatorships, kingdoms or even oligarchies.
Many considered a republic to be an important step toward democracy. Democracy being a situation in which a growing percent of citizens were practicing governance. More people were learning to participate in their own government as mature adults. Republicanism and democracy seem excellent ideas for solid, stable, just modes of governance. Both call for ongoing learning and practice.
So, citizenship is about the doings of citizens which is the practice of their own governance. Citizens are persons learning to take care of themselves and take care of their own governance. I imagine that we agree that the base meaning of democracy is governance by the people. A republic is much like that, the people being responsible for their government, but being a bit less active. Both democracy and republicanism are active processes. In both the job of governing is done in a lively way and a bit more so in a democracy.
Where the people of either a republic or democracy lack practice, their government may fail.
More can be said about governance. Most of use know a great deal about self government and much of it can be taking care of by ourselves. However, when our neighbors are throwing garbage in our street leading to the sickness of our children we know that some cooperation is in order. We could perhaps burn down the houses of our offending neighbors but we realize that could lead to more problems. So, we have learned a great deal about co-operation. That co-operation is how we govern ourselves. We get our food and water in that way. When we refuse to take some responsibility for our mutual food, water, and garbage, we are likely to get worse food and water, and worse treatment of garbage. So, we have learned to practice cooperative governance for our benefit and that of our neighbors. Sometimes some of use forget that co-operation is a ongoing process.
Even in our own families co-operation is not a one time affair, but an ongoing cooperation. We come to maintain accords with our families and neighbors, we often come to develop certain norms and come to know that they must be practiced to be maintained. Cooperative practice usually takes communication. So, communication, practice, and co-operation are all part of governance and government.
You may have discovered that a motor may spin out of control so people install a governor on it which slows it down or stops it. People have learned to put a governor on themselves, but have learned that some kind of governors are more likely to act up and get out of control and have learned that a drunken king is more likely to spin out of control than are the citizens of a republic.
Governance can be seen as a kind of taking care of. We tend to get better care when we take some responsibility for that care. So, it is my hope that we will practice a governance of ourselves, our families, our town, our team, our county, and more. I believe there are plenty of use to do this without anyone feeling overloaded.
Let me write more about citizenship. Most of us have been citizens and so know something about citizenship. Some tend to think of it as a set of rights, without thinking of the ongoing maintenance that those rights require. Citizenship is the practice of the skills of governance in of a state as a recognized member or citizen of that state. Active citizenship is the practice and using those skills in a lively and active manner. Citizenship is usually a legal position having a set of rules and laws agreed on to regulate citizen behavior. In republics and democracies the rules and laws are made by the people. The laws and rules are usually not burdensome. However, in citizenship there are usually duties and rights which may be claimed by citizens. At time those claims may prove a burden. However, not claiming them often proves troublesome. Not claiming duties and rights can cause many personal and social losses. Not claiming ones duties and rights can cause the loss of rights, citizenship,liberty, duties, happiness, state, home, and life; not just one's own. but als one's family, friends, fellow citizens, happiness. The losses are likely to extend to those who may have been able to enjoy your state in years to come. When not so very many of us fail to claim and practice our rights and duties our state moves toward failure. The first deady step toward such failure is often the failure of dialogue about our cooperation. The first step in that dialogue is listening for understanding and meaning.
In perhaps all republics it is legal for a citizen to "lobby" other citizens. 'Lobby" is not a legal term. It's a good word, but it is very seldomly used in a legal documents, contracts, or courts. In definition, it could be the practice of doing what one can to persuade others, as might a teacher, preacher, propagandist, or other. However, it is more often used in persuading citizens or their representatives in legal or political situations to act in a way congenial to your purposes. Perhaps in routing traffic to avoid a school to prevent children from being struck by a vehicle while crossing the street in front of their school. Lobbying is much like milk, it can be good, bad, sour, sweet, etc. So there is honorable lobbying, but it is not always so. It is a word much used in modern politics.
Lobbying can be a sort of encouragement. For example you could try to persuade fellow citizens to organize to help each other to practice teaching each one another about governance, citizenship, and organizing. Seems like a lot. Trying to get your high school, school board to open a night school with that topic could be a case of lobbying.
There is a lack of knowledge about politics among us. It is the way we have come to work out our without violence or bloodshed. Some have come to think of "politics" as a bad word and that it is not useful. The way we practice it is not great, but it is a lot better then killing one another. It would be better if we listened better for the other guys meanings, practiced more dialogue, and became a bit more active in our own governance it could be a lot better. Politics is much like milk is to many of us. It can be sweet and it can be sour, and it can become a bit cheesy. We just learn how to use it. Politics is a name of a way for a way we co-operate to govern ourselves. Like any job or duty, it can be done, poorly. or worse.
Check online or your in or in your dictionary for the definition of politics. Pick out the best of what you find and you will come close to the way I usually use the word. In fact you can check out all the words like citizenship, government, republic, democracy, and others. Pick out the best of each and go for it.
Using our knowledge:
Anyway, I would be proud and pleased to be lobbied to be lobbied to be part of a group group dedicated to helping on another to learn the nature of and doing of politics, governance, democracy, republicanism, and citizenship. And also to learn about being a useful citizen of my neighborhood, city, town, county, state, or nation. It seems good to learn how to take care of our polity together.
As an American, as a citizen of the United States, I would like to learn with others about our Constitution including an up-to-date understanding of it's amendments. And more importantly, how to use it in governance, democratically as a good citizen. Recently I have been mostly been thinking about being an effective citizen at the national level. However, it seems to make more sense to learn how a democratic republic is worked at the town or county level, or even at the neighborhood level in a city, or at a school-board level, or in a number of ways closer to home. I believe one could learn to me more active at both a state or national level and at a local level and do so effectively with some satisfaction. By showing up at party meetings of say the Green, Republican, or Democrat party, one might be able to learn more about local and national governance almost at the same time. Just a meeting of 3 or 4 or 7 or 11 of persons near me to consider how to better use our Constitution to govern ourselves could be instructive fun.
These days I find myself much less interested in candidates and parties and more interested in bills, issues, laws, and the workings of getting good important doings done and maintained. So, I could say my interests is more in platforms, planks and happy and proud citizens. I would also be pleased to have good orientations, good goals, and good successes. I find that the 20 or so national parties in the US still have and publish platforms and planks. With the US citizens reading here I would like to look over and consider some of those planks and discover the ones which of them are most liked and important among us. At the moment, planks with plans to promote citizen participation and education in democratic governance seems interesting to me.
There are times when we feel that we can use all the help we can get. That be true or not. But there are times when help is very welcome and perhaps vital. Much of the time we need very little help and often that is all we get. However, there is much we could teach one another and doing that teaching could be very helpful. I think that it is possible to make time to be helped. It could be a pleasure to learn from an other or to teach an other. For example as we taught each other, we might learn more effective ways to support our better Representatives to work more effectively for our own good, the good of the country. With practice in doing this together even when our "goods" were not exactly the same, we could give impatice to happenings good for one another, our children and youth and for the state of our land in general. We can learn and practice as we will.
Practicing our knowledge
We can learn a lot about our mutual governance and we can help each other to practice that which we learn. I have voted, demonstrated, read the newspaper, listened to news and watched it on TV. I use my computer to learn, gather information, and communicate. I have participated in campaigns and have attended political meetings a little. I have been teaching myself about self governance, active citizenship, and active democracy. I believe that I could make more progress in a group and enjoy it. I think that members of such a group can learn more, do more, and find more satisfaction than they can by only learning and doing as individuals.
I sure don't want todo governance until I drop. I believe that there are ways to do enough without doing what feels like too much. One way to do that is to eliminate that which interests us least. I am now less interested in parties and candidates and am more interested in issues and planks. We are free and can portion our time as we will. Governance and politics entail more than candidates and parties; so, I can still be interested in politics when I want to. I can even try to help a candidate whom I believe can successfully move forward an issue important to me.
Show up
An important part of citizenship, and of much else, is showing up. You can find opportunities to show up. Many find voting such an opportunity others find public demonstrations a welcome opportunity. The learning about issues important to one and sharing that learning with others is a opportunity for some to show up. Others find their opportunity in co-operating in the resolution and implementation of an issue. Others find theirs at a school board meeting or city council meeting. There are many ways to co-operate to keep, for example, your town, or your nation operating well.
To do anything well there is usually some learning to do. Practice is a great aid to learning. There is a limited amount that an individual can or wants to do. Nearly everyone has some ability to co-operate. Others have the ability to listen carefully. Some have said that one way not to spread oneself too thin is to think globally and to act locally. This sounds good and has helped some. Most of us can show up and listen and perhaps co-operate.
We can show up and listen with the purpose of understanding. We could show where others are doing active citizenship democratically. Personally I find that listening at a school board meeting is more interesting than hanging out at my polling place. Thank goodness that we do not all have the same likes and dislikes.
Some find city council meetings more interesting. Finding out where a given councilman likes to see city funds spent might interest me for a whole meeting. Political party meetings could be a place worth showing up at. One might find Green Party meetings where things are getting done is of interest. Listening to people where they are co-operating to act on an important social issue could interest another.
Listening does not interest anyone forever, but it is often best to listen and understand enough to keep one's foot out of one's mouth before speaking much. So, it is best to listen a bit to see how active citizenship is being practiced in a given situation. By listening you can come to better understand how active citizenship is practiced there and how the issue is understood.
Co-operation:
We know something about co-operation and co-operating. Co-operating is a lot. It is an important and useful early and ongoing activity. It is important for citizenship, organization, and governance. It is a step toward well practiced governance. It is important to co-operate with one another and it is also beneficial to be aware of co-operating with our learning process. We can have some fun with awareness of this learning process it can keep us from being bored by believing that we know everything or even enough. To be effective active citizens we keep our co-operation skills in good shape. Remember one skill and practice is showing up.
Perhaps we are setting ourselves, here and now, on the road to developing darn good governance skills. Perhaps our co-operation skills are developing into citizenship skills, which can lead us to active democracy and even real governance of the people, by the people, and for the people.
I suspect that these interesting skills have begun to consider can lead to valuable and interesting side effects. Perhaps some of us can even upgrade some some individual self care skills which some believe are part associated with political self governance. We can also upgrade our communication skills, especially the oral communication skills of groups.
So, practicing care of ourselves individually and as part of a polity is important to good citizens and to good citizenship. And, we often find that taking part in democratic conversation group is a practical and fun practice.
We could even begin to consider how to increase our understanding of the nature of self governance as a form of taking care of our selves individually, politically, socially, publically, nationally, and more. Some consider accepting such responsibility a pleasing honor. We can learn much from one another and each other. It is well done with showing-up and co-operating. There is a big variety of useful, interesting and fun doings and happenings which come with increased understanding the sharing of care. That includes the process of governance, especially when done with active citizenship and democracy.
Active:
It's about doing. Some citizens want to better understand the intentions and practices of their presten government, be it town or national. Some consider how to do that. Consideration is good and almost active. When your consideration leads you to a town council meeting you are active. Others want to understand the gathering and sharing of information which is of value to fellow citizens. Attending a meeting of active citizens can be considered a purposeful doing of an active citizen. Your doings your activities are up to you. Some get active organizing meetings or gatherings. Some find planks or issues which feel important and they find a way to support that plank or issue. Some look at alternatives to self governance and bring their findings to others. Others do what they can to bring a bit more active democracy to public meetings. Some find it satisfying and easy to get active in party politics.
Just sharing some info here can count as active. Tell what you find out about real active democracy doings or the doings of active citizens, including yourself.
This essay or post is different from many of my posts in that it is both longer than many and more chatty than most. I hope it includes values for you.
Healthy citizenship.
Thank you for reading!
RCS