We are privileged as Americans to live in a republic where we get a say in who runs our country and how. But in order for the democratic process to work properly, its citizens must actively participate. A government by the people and for the people cannot work without the people. With the upcoming presidential election it is our responsibility to educate ourselves about the presidential candidates’ platforms and the parties they represent.
Nearly 6,000 delegates from all over the United States participated in the 2012 Democratic National Convention — including University of Idaho student Michael Weaver — which took place Monday through Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. The majority of each state’s delegates are everyday Americans who are passionate about the democratic process, according to the 2012 DNC website.
Following each party’s national convention is a crucial step to staying educated. The purpose of a national convention is to nominate a party candidate and negotiate a platform for the election.
The Republican National Convention took place Aug. 27-30 in Tampa, Fla., and hosted 2,286 delegates and 2,125 alternate delegates, according to the RNC website.
Committees and caucuses at national conventions prepare reports on party platforms, delegate credentials and rules of procedures. The entire convention then ratifies or amends the groups’ suggestions.
Committees at the DNC included the youth council, LGBT caucus, disability caucus, ethnic council, faith council, Hispanic caucus, Native American council and so on.
The RNC is comprised of four committees — the resolutions, credentials, rules and permanent organization committees.
Each convention also featured a series of speakers. People such as former president Bill Clinton, Sen. Kay Hagan of Texas, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and first lady Michelle Obama spoke in support of President Barack Obama at the DNC. First Lady of Puerto Rico Luce Fortuno, former Sen. Rick Santorum, Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s wife, Ann Romney, were among those who supported Romney at the RNC.
The outcome of the 2012 presidential election affects all of us. Although the diversity of groups at the national conventions represented a vast portion of Americans, it’s our responsibility to be educated about each candidate so in November we can cast the vote we believe is right.
It’s easy, and all too common, to let the opinions of our friends and family influence the way we think or vote. Listening to speakers like those at the national conventions firsthand is far more reliable than what we hear by word of mouth, or in the political banter of campaign ads running the gamut of recent media.
As we pursue a college education and prepare for the real world, it’s the perfect time to learn to think for ourselves and form our own opinions. It’s also time to take advantage of our constitutional rights.
In the 2008 presidential election, 22 million young people voted, raising the percentage of people under the age of 30 who voted to 51 percent, according to a report by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning Engagement. That was the third consecutive election in which the percentage of young voters increased.
Let’s make the 2012 election the fourth.
— BK