Citizen Engagement- Mass Media and Politics

  Now that we have talked about the election process and the electoral college, its time to talk about the upcoming election! We the people need to make our voice heard, and one of the best ways we can do that is by getting out there and voting! One of the biggest opportunities we have to vote is coming up on November 5, 2024, which is when we will have the opportunity to vote for our next US President. So today, I would like to share with you some information that may be helpful in preparing you for the upcoming election season.  As you all know, in each presidential election we start of with quite a large candidate pool in the two major parties and a medium sized third-party candidate pool. Here is what the candidate pool is looking like for the upcoming election so far. If you go to this link (  Who Are the 2024 Presidential Election Candidates? - The New York Times (nytimes.com) ) and click the pictures you can get more info on each of the below:  Throughout 202...

Over my last few posts, I have talked about when, where, and how to get involved in politics and the upcoming election.  As previously stated, there is an ongoing debate about whether or not "the people" truly have a voice. Part of that debate stems from the structure of our voting system and voting processes.  In most of our elections (Senators, Governors, Mayors, Ect.), candidates are awarded positions in office based on popular vote by the American people, however when it comes to selecting our President and Vice President, these positions are not awarded based on popular vote. Instead, they are awarded based on voting by the American people, and what is knowing as an Electoral College. The Electoral College was developed as a compromise between popular vote and Congressional vote and is in the US Constitution. Each state has 1 electoral vote for every member of Congress within their state, Washington DC also has 3 electoral votes, totaling 538 nationwide. Once the people ...

The word democracy originates from the Greek word's "demos", meaning people and "kratos" meaning power. Therefore, the word democracy, in loose terms, means ruled by the people, the people have the power. Now as we all know, there are many variations of democracy, and it looks a bit different from one country to another.  Here in the United States, the people have the power to vote for the nation's leaders at the local, state, and federal levels, however, this is done through an electoral system, therefore it is not necessarily the popular vote that wins the election. Once in office, those leaders now have the power to make decisions for the people. That being said, over the years, there have been many debates and discussions on whether or not those in office truly represent the needs of the people, whether or not the people have any real say on what happens in our country, and whether or not these powers have evolved with the times.  One side believes that ...

Last week we talked about the ways in which citizens can get involved with/participate in politics. One thing I noted was that just by doing basic online searches, I was coming up short-handed with results. Now it's your turn to share. Please take the short survey below and let me know how you participate in politics/elections. You can also comment below as well!    https://pbxvwlwrwkx.typeform.com/to/L5PWk8La

With the 2024 election fast approaching, many questions come to mind when thinking about when, where, and how to get involved. I did a few quick searches and to be honest, I was less than impressed with the results. In one search, I looked up "Where can citizens engage in politics?". I did find one article published by MasterClass that gives you 6 ways in which you can get involved in politics, however, it did not tell you where to go or really provide any details. Not to mention, the article was over a year old. (See here if interested:  How to Get Involved in Politics: 6 Methods of Political Engagement - 2023 - MasterClass ) The rest of what I found were mostly college textbook links and various academic or scholarly sources that would be great for someone looking to write a research paper or article, however, for the everyday average citizen, this was just not helpful.  So, I decided to change my search a bit. I then looked up "What ways can citizens participate i...

  Everywhere you right now, you see news stories, social media posts, protests, and so many other things relating to the latest happening in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The conflict began, as many do, as a fight over land and freedom. This conflict dates back more than a century and has been the root of at least seven major wars. The most recent conflict resulted from a group known as Hamas, which is an Islamic resistance movement, and their desire “to free Palestinian prisoners, stop Israeli aggression on al-Aqsa Mosque, and to break the siege on Gaza.” (The Washington Post, 2023) Hamas broke through Israeli border in a calculated attack on October 7th claiming the lives of more than 1000 people and taking hostage many more. In response, Israel has waged war.  The United States has been an ally of Israel for many years and has pledged its loyalty to Israel through this current conflict. Earlier this week, President Biden made a visit to I...