Soul of a Citizen: How to Create a More Politically Engaged Society

The lack of political knowledge in contemporary American society has, and will continue to remain, a grave threat to our nation's longstanding goals. Although the United States was founded upon the belief that the people, or citizenry, must remain actively engaged in the political spectrum, the country has witnessed a sincere lack of citizenship over the past several decades (Loeb). Yet this decline has not proven to be fatal to American politics and the values of democracy. Many people have taken the initiative to become more engaged in political processes, and their actions hold the potential to spark a new wave of civic participation. In this paper, I will analyze, among other studies, Paul Loeb's book, Soul of a Citizen, highlighting the ways in which the common man or woman are crucial to developing and enhancing widespread political engagement in the United States.

Paul Loeb illustrates the need for American citizens to take on various political challenges and combat things they feel are unjustified as a way to counterbalance growing conservatism and hierarchical leadership in the United States. Loeb states that, “annual surveys suggest that [students] care less each year about the environment, racial understanding, community-action programs, or even discussion of political issues” (Loeb 42). This underlying trend has caused many Americans to dismiss their civic duty, creating a society in which political engagement has become more and more sparse. In Soul of a Citizen, Loeb gives both personal stories and anecdotes on individuals who have empowered themselves by becoming more politically active, from Virginia Tech student Angie De Soto (who after the 2004 election began campaigning for action to combat climate change) and our 44th President, Barack Obama, who campaigned in the anti-apartheid movement during his collegiate years (Loeb). These stories help Loeb argue that increased citizenship at even the smallest levels can fuel American political participation, creating leaders for both the present and the future, something he believes to be a vital component of America's democratic heritage. Even Loeb himself admits to being expelled from college for his actions in opposing the Vietnam War during the late 1960's, a truly memorable experience which propelled him to find an audience to voice his growing concerns with American foreign policy (Loeb). In conjunction, these stories illustrate that without civic engagement and active participation in the political spectrum, the voices of millions of Americans may not be heard. These lessons are crucial for a contemporary public which lacks civic engagement and can be countered by a multitude of methods.

To address these issues, it is first prudent to analyze why citizens do not respect, let alone act upon, their very fortunate citizenship which they hold in the United States. Loeb would most likely suggest that the best way to increase civic engagement would be to take an individual approach, and while such a process may be trying and time consuming, it would be in the best interest in promoting heightened awareness of the values of citizenship throughout the nation (Loeb). Another potential issue would be to break down the barrier of the politically engaged from being either radically liberal or conservative. Loeb states that “our cultural myths suggest people are either socially active or not: a few saints or crazies storm out of the womb with protest signs in their hands, but the rest of us are normal and leave the messy business of changing society to others” (Loeb 43). This argument is also reiterated in Soul of a Citizen, in which Loeb suggests that people tend to view political activists as “foreign” and in direct opposition to the values of democracy, something which could not be further from the truth (Loeb, 2010, 46). This longstanding and more contemporary issue is problematic for multiple reasons, primarily which it suggests only “radicals” or “revolutionaries” are the individuals who participate and demonstrate against the established order, something which is entirely contradictory to the democratic process. Thus, to foster general democratic participation by a broader number of citizens, it would be vital to illustrate that many politically moderate people protest various concerns they have in the American political arena.

Even more importantly, however, is the absence of the knowledge of American political processes themselves and governmental functions. While Loeb tends to focus on the lack of civic participation in political processes, he also writes about citizens' lack of knowledge about even the simplest of such actions, presenting a troubling future for the United States. To counter this lack of knowledge, it will take personal measures, not politics, to drive individuals out to commend, demonstrate, and even revolt against values and policies they believe to be unfair. This is the analysis that Loeb holds to be the most dynamic way of reaching the largest number of people, and is something he uses to illustrate how the common man can achieve incredible feats in the American political spectrum, something which although has been forgotten in recent years, can be reiterated by the strong number of individuals who took on such civic duties in the past, only to better our nation's goals.

It is also instrumental to note that this citizenship should not be taken for granted, something that can also be used to motivate lackadaisical citizens. Kathleen Knight Abowitz and Jason Harnish define political citizenship as “'the right to participate in the exercise of political power, as a member of a body invested with political authority or as an elector of the members of such a body'” (Abowitz and Harnish 653). Thus, to continue to stress the importance of citizenship, it would be prudent to highlight that such action is a right and should not be taken likely. In doing so, many individuals may be swayed to more appropriately tackle issues they find appealing or problematic, thus helping to reverse the trend of reduced civic engagement.

There are many steps necessary to take to increase the amount citizens participate in the political arena. Key to this approach is reinforcing the benefits of such participation, and the duty of all Americans to engage in the democratic processes they have as citizens. The benefits of citizenship are unparalleled in our country; however, without the continuous desire to foster civic engagement, many such benefits we hold dear in American democracy may falter.

Works Cited

Loeb, Paul. Soul of a Citizen. New York: St. Martin's Press, (2010).

Loeb, Paul. “Against Apathy: Role Models for Civic Engagement.” American Association of University Professors. 87.4 (2001): 42-7.

Abowitz, Kathleen Knight and Harnish, Jason. “Contemporary Discourses of Citizenship.” Review of Educational Research. 76.4 (2006): 653-690.