Introduction
Civic engagement is an essential factor in human life and its development. It includes the activities of a group of individuals or a person aimed at evolving or solving existing problems. With the help of this factor, the state has the opportunity to settle those issues that the current authorities could not solve. Moreover, civic involvement demonstrates how high the standards of living are in the country since the high level of this indicator means a high degree of motivation in the population. The aim of this paper is to analyze what civic engagement means both in general and in individual aspects.
Civic Engagement
Civilian engagement includes processes for solving problems or tasks involving both special groups of people and individuals. Examples of this include voting, participation in group or individual work, and volunteering, which aim to improve any environment (Lazin, 2018). It is believed that civic engagement is a tool of democracy, as it is based on volunteer principles. Thus, a group of persons or individuals voluntarily performs certain actions to benefit a community or country. As a rule, high rates of civic involvement are observed in countries with a high standard of living, as the population has a greater degree of people’s motivation and satisfaction with their social status. Besides, people have more free time to spend on civic activities.
Considering this issue in the context of the individual factor, namely what it means to me, one may distinguish several points. Firstly, it is beneficial both for the country and for the individual, as the environment in which the individual exists is improved. Furthermore, volunteering, or helping other people, enhances a person’s mental state, as one feels psychological feedback from positive actions. Additionally, one has the opportunity to feel oneself a part of the team in the case of group activities. For some people, it can be a way to get rid of loneliness or depression. Finally, for me, it is also positive because one may feel how one’s community or country is improved.
Civic involvement is also beneficial for some political forces, as among its tasks may be demonstrations or peaceful rallies. A large number of people that are involved in some groups may be used as an electorate. Further, civic engagement constitutes the basis of civil society, which originated in ancient Greece (Lazin, 2018). Thus, given the historical context and improving the principles of work, civic engagement is a tool for the development of democracy. Similarly, it formulates a positive aspect for me as it articulates equality and development opportunities.
However, despite the benefits mentioned above of civic engagement, it has a deeper meaning for me. Certainly, one of the goals of every person’s life is to improve living conditions, environment, and relationships. Civic engagement includes the development of these factors, as its actions are aimed at solving problems. In addition, groups of people can also contribute to the improvement of the environment through the cleaning or other beneficial activities. Accordingly, conditions are refined, as a favorable environment is a basis for auspicious conditions. Finally, one improves relationships, for example, by being in a group of people where one can find like-minded people or friends.
Besides, civic involvement positively affects relations between the state and the population. Thus, civilian engagement strengthens the population’s trust in the authorities and also reduces the possibility of unrest (Carpenter, 2021). Further, high rates of civic engagement contribute to faster and more effective implementation of ideas or solutions. This is due to the fact that a high level of support in the population can attract a large number of people. Thus, large-scale tasks can be completed in a short time; in addition, the threat of dissatisfaction from the implemented idea among the population disappears. Finally, it also strengthens the local community, which improves the overall performance of the economy and well-being on a national scale.
However, in order to establish high rates of civic engagement, it is necessary to have high rates of trust among the population. It has been found that civic engagement strengthens confidence, although it happens after the civic engagement indicators themselves have been increased. In other words, raising civic engagement is difficult without initial trust. Considering that this is primarily a way to implement my intentions to improve the environment, the state must demonstrate its readiness to improve it. Finally, civic involvement is a way to realize oneself on the individual level since the meaning of life is at least that it would not be lived in vain.
Conclusion
To conclude, civic engagement is an important factor with many positive influences. In a general context, it improves such indicators of the country as the economy and well-being. However, in order to increase civic engagement, there must initially be a certain level of trust. Accordingly, it will increase the level of trust of both the authorities in the people and the people in the authorities in the future. Besides, civic engagement helps in the rapid implementation of ideas, improves public behavior, and reduces the risk of unrest. Finally, for me, civic engagement is also a way to realize myself and make the environment better.
References
Carpenter, S. (2021). The ideology of civic engagement: Americorps, politics, and pedagogy. SUNY Press.
Lazin, O. M. (2018). Civic engagement, civil society and philanthropy in the USA, Romanian & Mexico. Book Venture Publishing LLC.