POLITICAL SELF
Politics refers to the acts or activities involved in obtaining and exercising power in a nation or community. It is also described as the manner in which power is distributed in a company and how personal ties between co-workers influence this distribution.
"Man is, by nature, a political animal.” – Aristotle
Politics as imbibed by man implies several things:
Politics is concerned with power.
Politics functions based on a particular social economic and cultural context.
The political is also personal.
Politics goes hand in hand with the society.
Active citizenship refers to organized kinds of participation in political processes as well as daily types of participation in society. It is also referred to as the process of exchanging decisions that may affect one's own life as well as the welfare of the community in which one lives. Participation is an essential responsibility of citizenship.
STORY TIME
As Taylor Swift sang on one of her songs entitled cardigan, she said that “When you are young, they assume you know nothing.” In terms of political participation or active citizenship there is a common stereotype among Filipino household that a kid or a simple teenager should not mind this kind of matter because they assume that we know nothing compare to them. Personally, I have this kind of story, this pandemic helped me to become fully aware of our political environment. I saw how irresponsible and incompetent our government is on handling this pandemic issue. They just keep on producing bandage solutions like dolomite sand and anti-terror bill and not attacking the main problem.
That’s when I participated in the movement to call for #OustDuterte. I believe, as a youth this is the smallest thing that I can do to provide something for the future generations and to become a voice for those unprivileged people. Though some of my family members may not agree on my political stand but I try my best to educate them no matter what they say because for me, this is the least I can do. Lastly, I also encourage some of my friends to register for the 2022 elections and I keep on sharing political issues on social media to keep them posted. Finally, I also believe that our participation in nation-building activities improve our value orientation and builds honesty, compassion, and a sense of justice, all of which are important for the full development of a citizen of a nation.