While failing to vote is a failure to exercise an important right, failing to vote as an informed and engaged citizen is a more significant failing of the important civic duties of responsible citizenship. Voting should be the culmination of civic engagement.
This post is a brief summary accompanied by a link to an article written by Justin Stapley for the Federalist Coalition, a 501(c)(4) non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to promote and educate Americans on the principles of federalism. For more links as well as insights, short-posts, and general ramblings from Justin Stapley (editor and owner of The Liberty Hawk), visit The Editor’s Corner.
In my latest article for The Federalist Coalition, I make the case that narrowly focusing on “turning out the vote” treats only a symptom of a far deeper disease. Instead of only focusing on a single, narrow political exercise, we should be doing what we can to create and cultivate a culture of complete civic engagement.
Not only should we advocate for better and more extensive school instruction on the important subjects of civics, political philosophy, law, American history, and current political issues, they should be dinner table conversations. We should be asking our children basic questions, challenging them to think through political issues, and teaching them to articulate their thoughts effectively. We should be challenging ourselves to engage with our friends and neighbors in respectful dialogue about the difficult topics of politics and government.
Click here to read the full article.
Do you have a response to Justin’s article? Would you like to offer your own take on this topic? Feel free to submit your own article or offer a comment below.
Justin Stapley is the owner and editor of The Liberty Hawk and the voice of The New Centrist Podcast. As a political writer, his principles and ideals are grounded in the ideas of ordered liberty as expressed in the traditions of classical liberalism, federalism, and modern conservatism. You can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.