I don’t understand this Social Science question and need help to study.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, civic
engagement is “the process of working collaboratively with and through
groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest,
or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of
those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental
and behavioral changes that will improve the health of the community and
its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help
mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among
partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and
practices” (CDC, 1997, p. 9).

The National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation asserts that there are seven core principles for civic engagement:

• Planning and preparation
• Inclusion and demographic diversity
• Collaboration and shared purpose
• Openness and learning
• Transparency and trust
• Impact and action
• Sustained engagement and participatory culture

Source: (Atlee, 2009)

An example of successful, community engagement was the formation of
the Jefferson County Historical Society (now known as the Evergreen,
Mountain Area Historical Society). In 1973, concerned residents of
Evergreen, Colorado, realized that even though their town was rapidly
expanding due to interstate highway access, they were losing touch with
the past. As a result, a group of citizens organized the non-profit,
historical society; and then the historical society petitioned the
county to purchase a historical dwelling that was home to one of the
town’s founders. Renamed the Hiwan Museum and managed by both the county
and the historical society, residents can tour the facility and learn
about Colorado’s pioneering days. In addition, the Evergreen Mountain
Area Historical Society continues to “protect, preserve, and promote the
history of Jefferson County” (EMAHS, 2019).

Yet, organizing civic engagement is not always easy. There are
obstacles which have to be overcome, which is why persistence and
passion for change are needed.

Directions: Using the required, academic readings, and supplemental academic research, please address the following while adhering to the Discussion Board Rubric:

• Why is civic responsibility important?
• What are the barriers to civic engagement?
• How can citizens overcome these barriers?
• Has the Internet and social media helped or hindered civic engagement?

References:

Atlee, T. (2009, May 1). Core Principles for Public Engagement.
Retrieved from
http://www.thataway.org/files/Expanded_Core_Princi…

EMAHS. (n.d.). Evergreen Mountain Area Historical Society. Retrieved from https://jchscolorado.org/

Principles of community engagement. (1997). Washington, DC.

Sarah Oliva posted Nov 25, 2020 2:34 PM

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Hello everyone,

Civic responsibility is the participation from citizens to work in a
community to make it better. This participation is important because it
leads to greater civic pride and responsibility, and sustained
community wellbeing (“National Civic League”, 2017). There are many
barriers to civic engagement. According to Dave Meslin in his video “The
Antidote to Apathy”, the seven barriers are the city hall, public
space, the media, ‘heroes’ (how we view leadership), political parties,
charitable status, and our elections (Meslin, 2019). There are also
unconscious barriers to community engagement, these being learned
helplessness, locus of control, functional fixedness, and the bystander
effect (Powell, 2014).

Citizens can overcome these barriers by redefining the lack of
interest in engagement as a complex web of cultural barriers that
reinforces disengagement, by clearly identifying what the obstacles are
that we have from including ourselves in civic engagement, and lastly,
work together to dismantle those obstacles in our way (Meslin, 2019). I
like the way that Meslin talked about these three solutions because it
sounds simple, and easy to understand for me. Internet and social media
have created a new way for citizens to engage in political matters,
especially those who are younger. Sixty-seven percent of Americans who
are within the ages of 18 and 24 engage in social network sites related
to political activity in some type of way. However, only thirteen
percent of Americans who are sixty-five and up have only participated in
social networking (Smith, 2013). Although social media and the internet
may be a greater deal to the younger generation, they have created a
new window for Americans to participate in civic engagement.

References

Why Civic Engagement Matters. (2017, October 13). Retrieved from https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/why-civic-engagement-matters/

Smith, A. (2013, April 25). Civil engagement in the digital age. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2013/04/25/civic-engagement-in-the-digital-age/

Mason Cowan posted Nov 25, 2020 4:51 PM

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Why is civic responsibility important?

Civic
responsibility is important because American policies are designed to
be driven and shaped by the people. When America declared its
independence, the entire purpose was to escape tyrannical leadership and
rule which took away the freedoms of citizens. So it is important that
over 200 years later, American citizens continue to shape and mold our
democratic laws so that not only the elites benefit from government
oversight, but that the majority of citizens also benefit.

What are the barriers to civic engagement?

From
personal experience, civic engagement may be difficult because many
people may not always know what policies are being proposed by our
elected leaders and policymakers. Many people don’t have access to this
information and may not know how to access it. So, this inhibits some
access of civic engagement. Another potential barrier is the possible
bias expressed in many mainstream media outlets and trusted experts. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt
has stated that many “Colleges and universities have long skewed
liberal biases” and “Some faculty members have even admitted that they
would not hire someone with outspoken conservative views” (Haidt, 2020).
This is an issue because it may be difficult for citizens to know what
is factual, and what is just biased one way or another politically.

How can citizens overcome these barriers?

Citizens
can overcome these barriers by fact checking everything. There are many
biased or opinion-based news articles that may or may not be true. It
is important that all citizens find the source of the issue and make the
determination themselves one way or another. America has a reputation
of allowing the people to decide how our country operates, so it is
important that the American people are well-educated and make decisions
based off facts whether than a journalist or so-called experts opinion.

Has the Internet and social media helped or hindered civic engagement?

I
believe that in many ways, social media has made more and more
Americans aware of issues and policies in our country, which is a good
thing that helps civil engagement. However, social media has also given
many people a platform, and perhaps swayed civil engagement in a
negative way. Many groups believe that social media has “censored them.”
An example of this is when YouTube demonetized a pro-LGBTQ group for
sharing their beliefs on the YouTube platform. The LGBTQ group is
actively suing YouTube for this dispute (Dickson, 2019). By censoring
opposing views and ideas, social media is certainly hindering the
advancement of civil engagement, because not all voices are allowed to
be heard by the public, so an entire section of American citizens are
not being heard.

REFERENCES:

Civic
Duties, Civic Virtues, and the Barriers to Effective Citizenship.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2020, from
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publicatio…