Irani 1 Sarah Irani Professor Vana English 114B February 18, 2014

Fear, Anxiety, and Destruction, Oh My! Civic responsibilities are a very important aspect in making our country grow. Without certain tasks performed by each United States citizen, America could potentially stay the same forever, or could turn into a tyrannical or authoritative country, such as Iran or Egypt. Being active in the political system by voting, communicating with the community, and helping the community are all simple, yet very effective ways to show civic responsibility. The one thing that the majority of civilians have in common is that they all fear a ruler who will destroy the little freedom that citizens have. In certain countries, there are mass rebellions taking place to assassinate the countrys dictator, the person in control of every single aspect of the populations lives. Fear, anxiety, and destruction will be Americas future if the correct civic responsibilities, such as voting, are not being followed. Almost every United States citizen wants change. We hear in the news all of the time about how Obama is not meeting educational goals that teachers have or the countrys deficit is just getting worse, (Reid) and by not showing up to the polls every four years, we are encouraging the problems to continue. However, when people do go to place a ballot, they need to have the knowledge of whom and what they are voting for. As United States citizens, we have a social contract which states that the people have the responsibility to vote for their representatives and electors, but many people do not feel it is necessary to vote. When citizens show up to the polls and do not know what the propositions are about and begin to vote for them based on their political partys agreement, it

Irani 2 causes a shift in what the outcome could have been if the voters had read the terms. If everyone takes the responsibility of voting, then maybe America will slowly begin to change for the better. Communicating with the community is always a fun and rewarding thing to do and is a part of everyones responsibility. Not only can we touch the lives of others, but we also begin to make our town a better place. If we get involved with getting the community aware of what is going on politically, then we will know what to go and tell our state representatives to tell Congress. People who do not reach out to their representatives should not complain about anything that is going wrong with the Supreme Court, or Congress because they never contributed in the first place. It is sad that not many people know who their state representatives are because those are the people that can try to help and listen to what their constituents are saying. How is the president supposed to know what the people want if the people do not speak to him? The representatives are the closest things that we have to passing laws or regulations in the government, so we need to step up and make the extra effort in making our state and country better. Volunteering in the community is another great way to get involved. If somebody we know is in crisis, or if we just see a homeless shelter nearby, we should definitely try to become a volunteer and help the needy. By helping one another, we begin to form great relationships that will most likely prevent a chaotic uproar in the future. If there is tension in towns, chaos will eventually start to take place, like in Egypt in 2011. (PBS) The citizens did not like their ruler, so they started a revolution, but there were certain groups within the civilians that were on the armys side. Soon enough, police brutality, mass killings, and horrible tragedies began to take place. This could be avoided by trying to get along with the authorities and letting the representatives know if we feel that there is a threat in our town.

Irani 3 Overall, without becoming actively involved, the country will not change. The symbolic perspective of language is going to be the main turning point that will change America if residents begin to take initiative and do what is right for their country. Without helping, communicating, and taking action, we slowly become disengaged with our idea of a perfect society, so people should make the extra effort to help our country grow. We all have the goal of the American Dream; to live happily, healthily, and to be successful, so we should all put that energy into making the dream come true.

Irani 4 Works Cited "Egypt in Crisis." PBS. PBS, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014. Marshall, Thomas R. "Party Responsibility Revisited: A Case Of Policy Discussion At The Grass Roots." Western Political Quarterly 32.1 (1979): 70-78. International Political Science Abstracts. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. Reid, W.M., and J.S. Henderson. "Political Obligation: An Empirical Approach." Polity 9.2 (1976): 237-252. International Political Science Abstracts. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.