| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="FirstEssay" |
|---|
| |
<
< | We live in a nation that claims to be the pinnacle of democracy and a model to the rest of the world. However, this is far from the truth and many reasons exist that makes this statement false. America is hypocritical because we claim to stand for democracy while we lack full democracy in our very own nation’s capital. Being born and raised in Washington, D.C. I always had pride in the fact that I lived in the nation’s capital. To many, DC is seen as a tourist location where they can explore the monuments, museums, and see where the president lives. This view of our nation’s capital most likely contributes to the unfair and unequal treatment that the 650,000 DC residents face daily. Similar to the rest of the country, residents of the District myself included, are fed up with the political system since DC residents have been cheated of their full representation since DC was created. | >
> |
Civility is dead. Anger is alive and we must use it to our advantage.
| | | | |
<
< | If you look around DC you will notice the license plates which read, “taxation without representation”. This is an accurate assessment of the situation because D.C. lacks full representation in both houses of congress and full power over their own laws. I sometimes refer to The District of Columbia as the last colony. This may be a bit extreme, but the fact that D.C. has no voting representation in the House of Representatives, Senate, and the fact that other members of Congress can overturn and block laws that DC citizens have voted for and passed shows how backwards our political scheme is. Most people in America are not aware of the fact that D.C. such full representation and that Congress constantly decides to block legislation that is passed through the DC Council. Even though most people outside of Washington, D.C. are not aware of the struggle, many DC residents are and have attempted to fight back against the government that supposedly represents their interests. The accepted solution to this lack of political power, in the center of American Democracy has led Washingtonians to pursue the route to statehood. | | | | |
<
< | Every year DC residents vote in a referendum on whether DC should become a state. With the election this past November such a vote took place and DC residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of DC becoming a state with 86% of residents agreeing. This is not the first time that such a vote with such lopsided numbers has occurred, but again and again Congress ignores the will of the people, in the city where they supposedly work as civil servants of the people. When people hear about the dilemma in DC they often point to the fact that DC is not a state and make it seem like that justifies the lack of democracy in the city. However, I believe that it is silly and outdated to deny hundreds of thousands of Americans their natural right to be represented in Congress and denied control over their legislation due only to the lack of a title. | | | | |
<
< | It is an undeniable fact that Washington, D.C. has more residents than two states, Wyoming and Vermont. If two states with smaller populations than Washington, D.C. are allowed their standard two Senators, and other representatives in the house I see no reason why over half a million naturalized citizens are deprived of their exclusive right to participate in Democracy. All DC has is three electoral votes in the presidential election along with shadow representatives, and a Senator who all lack the ability to vote or even participate in discussions on the floor. The majority of DC residents are adamant about their animosity towards Congress for continuing to suppress the will of the people. It certainly seems hypocritical for the worlds self-proclaimed, greatest democracy to deny over half a million people in the nations capital, their right to fully participate in that democracy. But this comes as no surprise. As we have seen, America is a place where people can say one thing and do another, depending on how it aligns with their political purpose at the moment. | >
> | We live in a nation that claims to be the pinnacle of democracy and a model to the rest of the world. However, this is far from the truth. America is hypocritical because we claim to stand for democracy while we lack full democracy in our nation’s capital. Being born and raised in Washington, D.C. I always had pride in the fact that I lived in the nation’s capital. To many, DC is seen as a tourist location where they can explore the monuments, museums, and see where the president lives. Similar to the rest of the country, residents of the District myself included, are fed up with the political system because DC residents have been cheated of their full representation since DC was created. However, the movement for representation has virtually no support outside of the District on both sides of the aisle because there is no incentive for the states to lessen their senatorial representation. The current approach to achieving full representation for District residents has failed the past few decades, so it is time for a new attack plan. | | | | |
<
< | Arguments supporting the lack of representation in DC, point to the constitution and claim that DC was never meant to be a state or have representation in Congress. But we can not only view the past of our nation in a strictly originalist view, and as times change the law is sometimes required to change as well. There is one obvious reason why D.C., will not become a state or get representation anytime soon, politics. DC is a very liberal city and votes heavily in favor of the democratic party in all elections. Members of Congress fear that if DC became a state it would help to tip the Senate towards a more liberal makeup. What politicians fear the most is the loss of their power and influence, and in addition to the changes in the house of representatives and senate, another change would occur. | | | | |
<
< | If DC was to become a state or at least if DC was given full representation, congress would lose the ability to override laws that DC citizens pass. Congress often likes to use DC to make a message to the rest of Americans about the direction in which they see our nation going. This could mean controlling and limiting the budget of DC so that funding can’t take place, which is necessary for certain programs to happen. This sounds extremely familiar to what is going on today with current president and his strategy for getting states to comply with his delusional will. However, no one seems to care when extreme overreaches of power that try to supersede local laws occurs in DC. This is because people only care about things which affect them. My hope is that with outreach and the use of the internet, the plight of DC residents can spread and people will start to realize that by allowing injustice somewhere, you are condoning injustice elsewhere. 246 years latter America still has taxation without representation. | | | | |
<
< | | >
> | If you look around DC you will notice the license plates which read, “taxation without representation”. This is an accurate assessment of the situation because D.C. lacks full representation in both houses of congress and full power over their own laws. I sometimes refer to The District of Columbia as the last colony. The fact that other members of Congress can overturn and block laws that DC citizens have voted for and passed shows how backwards our political scheme is. Even though most people outside of Washington, D.C. are not aware of the struggle, many DC residents are aware and have attempted to fight back against the government that supposedly represents their interests. The accepted solution to this lack of political power, in the center of American Democracy has led Washingtonians to pursue the route to statehood. | | | | |
<
< | I don't think there was any idea here that isn't present in every
other piece on statehood for the District of Columbia I have
read, which is many. If you were presenting a new idea, you
should be sure to put it clearly at the top of the essay, so that
people who are accustomed to the discussion can see it first. | >
> | In today’s political atmosphere the unexpected has been the recent trend. Across the world people have started to voice their anger with the status quo, and as a result we have been given Brexit and an infant as the president of the United States. A politician’s greatest tool is fear, but fear can also be a politician’s nightmare, especially when it comes from angry constituents. If District residents really want to advance our agenda for representation & statehood we must throw away civility and use our anger to create an actual change in the status quo. I do not suggest using race and ethnicity like Trump to fuel anger and to create division. However, it is important to show other citizens across the 50 states that D.C. residents are not just upset, but that we are genuinely furious about our separation from the rest of Americans. Hopefully the combination of energized passion and anger from D.C. residents catches the heart of the nation and at the very least leads to a meaningful discussion. Disturbing the peace in a nonviolent manner has been a method used by civil rights activists in the past to draw attention to their cause, and I feel as if similar tactics are necessary if District residents ever want to experience what full citizenship in America feels like. | | | | |
<
< | What is not here is the simple political analysis: there is no
constituency in American government, other than the residents of
the District themselves, to support a statute, let alone a
constitutional amendment, to give senators and a congressman to
the District. No other State, let alone Virginia and Maryland,
benefits from the dilution of its Senatorial representation. The
Republican Party has no reason whatever to support the idea
anywhere, while the Democratic Party gains the votes of DC
residents in the Electoral College, and needs them in no other
way that would override the contrasting needs of the State
governments in which it holds power. It does not happen because
it has no meaningful support. This will not change.
So if you have an inclination to write an essay on this subject,
the next draft should leave out what we all have heard many times
before, and present some new form of political contrivance that
can squeeze the blood of democracy from the stones of reality.
| >
> | Similar to the rest of the country the majority of D.C. residents are adamant about their animosity towards Congress. Supporters of D.C. Statehood need to align their anger at Congress with the rest of the nation and frame the situation in D.C. as a suppression of the will of the people. It certainly seems hypocritical for the worlds self-proclaimed, greatest democracy to deny over half a million people in the nation’s capital, their right to fully participate in that democracy. But this comes as no surprise. As we have seen, America is a place where people can say one thing and do another, depending on how it aligns with their political purpose at the moment. Nonetheless, all that happens is a vote every few years on whether D.C. should become a state, letters to congress, and lackluster outreach to tourists on the national mall. It will take more from activists to push this movement out of the mud. People are angry and scared. Tapping into these emotions could be an effective tool for the D.C. statehood movement. Especially in this day and age Americans seem to love controversy, so why not give them some? The current way of doing things has given D.C. residents zero results, so it is time to stir the pot and pull at the heartstrings of Americans, using our anger to accomplish this. | | |
\ No newline at end of file | |
>
> | If D.C. wants statehood, it needs to energize its residents and move from a path of civility to one of passion. Propaganda which makes residents feel like second class citizens may be a way to ignite anger and propel change. Congress enjoys using DC to send a message to the rest of Americans about the direction in which they see our nation going. It is time for District residents to send a message back to Congress and the rest of the nation who enjoy full representation. The message should be loud, controversial, and should echo that residents don’t just feel left out, but that we are actually excluded from the majority of the political process and will not take it anymore. People only care about things which affect them, so it is time to bring the movement to the homes of every American. Violence is not the answer, but drama and anger seem to be what the media focuses on, so arrests, disturbing the peace through protests, and animated public figures are where the movement should start if it wants to be taken seriously. 246 years latter America still has taxation without representation and the world needs to hear loud and clear that if this continues it will start to be D.C. residents who create the chaos in Washington. |
|