Political Participation

In today's society I feel like there are only few ways to politically participate while making a significant difference in the government. Protesting is one way many people with shared political views can influence the decisions of Congress and political leaders.

The protesting group Occupy Wall street has camped and protested in Manhattan's Financial District for two weeks. Some issues they protest, global warming, corporate greed, and social inequality. NPR recently reported in an article titled "Hundreds Arrested After Protest on Brooklyn Bridge" that the group recently marched to the Brooklyn Bridge and spilled onto the road resulting in the arrests of hundreds of protesters. The article reports on whether the arrests were necessary, however when it comes to this type of political participation, arrests attract media and media attracts public attention. Protesters may not welcome arrest or violence from police but reports by the media on these events help the cause of the protest gain recognition from the public and government officials forcing attention on the issue. Of course a protest can gain attention without the negative results of violence or arrests. An example of this were the protests at the Capitol in Austin over immigration laws. The protests may not have changed opposing views but it definitely created interest on the issue forcing politicians to take a stance.

The article also reports that there were protests in Los Angeles, New Mexico, and Boston in support of the Occupy Wall Street Group. This is an example of how effective protesting is. The quick attention a protest causes among the media, word of mouth and the Internet allows participants to spread quickly throughout the nation. As we saw in the Immigration Protests this causes politicians to consider the issue and include an opinion on it in their campaign, allowing the public to vote for the politician that shares their view on the issue.

Protests are also easy to participate in. A participator can protest as long as they please and only need to know the location of the protest. Many protests also gain participants that are at first only spectating but may feel compelled to join because they share the same views on the issues being protested. I am always looking for easy ways to influence my government and protesting is at the top of my list.