CivicEducation

During the past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a community meeting sponsored by Pedro Carrillo, democratic candidate for the California's state legislature 46th district. Overall, the meeting served as a venue for Pedro Carrillo to present his political platform to members of the community. Expecting to hear the traditional political talk of most candidates -promising everything to everyone, I attended the meeting with some reservations However, his message completely changed my expectations. He simple promised to work hard in representing the interests and needs of his constituents if elected to the state assembly.

And in reality, I think that is the most honest thing a candidate can say. Politics is full of changing priorities, reassessments and evaluations; and promises made during the campaign sometimes are not able to be carried out. Thus, in my perception, the only thing a candidate can realistically promise is that he/she will work hard at representing the interests and needs of their constituents in such a dynamic world.

The presentation was a pleasant experience; however a question lingered in my mind the rest of the day:

If politicians play such an important role in reflecting one's interests and needs, why are people so apathetic towards electoral participation?

The fact is that a large percentage of people in California will not participate in the electoral process on March 5th. Although we live in one of the most advanced democracies in the world, many people don't exercise one of their most important democratic rights. In the past 2000 presidential elections only 51% of the eligible voters nationwide cast their votes (52% in California). And the statistics are grimmer during congressional and state elections (statistic obtained from the Center for Voting and Democracy: www.fairvote.org). The truth is that the lack of electoral participation is a serious problem that needs to be addressed if we expect democracy to keep flourishing in the United States.

After contemplating this issue for some time, another questioned emerged:

Where / when do people learn about civic duties and responsibilities?

After reflecting on my own personal experience regarding civic education, I realized that that could be the root of the problem. Realistically, how many people can say that they learned something substantive about democracy from their civics class, or other classes, in high school? I surely did not. Although valuable in their own merits, the curriculums currently used in most k-12 schools fail miserably at forming active and responsible citizens. Besides teaching basic information and history of our political system, schools fail to teach students the skills, values and dispositions needed to live in a democracy.

Thus, schools need new curriculums, lessons and activities that can teach the students the true meaning of democracy, and the rights and responsibilities that accompanied it. Only by addressing this issue, can one expect to solve the lack of electoral participation and the general problem of political apathy in the United States.

I truly hope that the future political winners in the upcoming state elections tackle the issue of civic education. In relation to our Latino community, this issue is of great importance. Only by learning to participate in the political process can we hope to forge a better future