Should Activists Be Transition Into A Politician

Can activists, more specifically community activists, successfully transition into a politician? Can they hold on to community-based interests over self-interest and ensure that the community remains a creator and not an object of policy? In the New York Times, Room for Debate opinion section, Bob Kerry, former governor of Nebraska and U.S. Senator, defines both terms. â€Å"An activist†, he notes, â€Å"is someone who organizes and acts for the purpose of changing a public policy or law. A politician is someone who seeks election to a public office on behalf of a general ideology and/or a specific agenda in which they promise to act.† Though distinctive terms, I would argue that the overarching theme in both is a commitment to service for others, whether by way of a grassroots organizing approach, by passing laws, or by seeking to shape public policies that affect the community one serves. I believe that because activists are grounded in issues that directly affect the ir constituents on both a local and state level, and politicians are the creators and implementers of policy or law, activists should hold political office to ensure the voices of the community are not only heard but enforced in laws. As I delve deeper into this topic, I hope to detail why, if activists became politicians, they are neither leaving the community nor losing their ambition to realize positive change but will continue to keep the best interest of their constituents in mind while voting, creating policy, andShow MoreRelatedWho is Nelson Madela?788 Words   |  3 PagesNelson Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician, and philanthropist who served as president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was South Africa’s first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on putting an end to apartheid through tackling racism, poverty, and inequality. Mandela has recently pa ssed away on December 5th 2013, and the world is truly grieving over his death. Mandela was bornRead MoreA Comprehensive Look At Information Regarding The Transgender Community1420 Words   |  6 Pagespublic manner in order to help others struggling with the issue of being openly transgender. Additionally, a recent movement by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group to establish equal rights for transgender people continues to make waves throughout the nation. Now, the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group are the leading forefront of implementing the rights of any transgender person to receive reference by their preferred gender pronoun along with the rights of theRead MoreDeath Penalty I. Introduction Attention Graber: Everyone knows that in the United States killing is900 Words   |  4 PagesGraber: Everyone knows that in the United States killing is wrong and if you do kill you get punish for it. Holly Near an activist tells us â€Å"Why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people is wrong?† Audience relevance: The United States is one Nation and that we believe that if you commit any crime you must be punished. If you commit a crime than you should be punish not murder. The death penalty is not a punishment. Also the Death Penalty is costing many of us money withoutRead MoreThe Is A Humanitarian Catastrophe1276 Words   |  6 Pagesnearly five years of armed conflict the civil war in Syria has claimed nearly 470,000 lives: 400,000 through direct violence and an additional 70,000 as an indirect result of the war. A governmental regime which uses terrorists tactics is one that should be looked at as a threat. The president of Syria, Bashar Al-Assad, has carried out a siege against his own civilians in Aleppo trapping them from the rest of the world. Depriving nearly 250,000 people of food, water, and supplies while bombing themRead MoreShould We Stop Putting Women? Essay1606 Words   |  7 Pagessentenced less than men who commit the same crime. Is this fair considerin g womens’ roles as mothers and wives, or is this the opposite of gender equality in America? One point of view on this question comes from an article by Anna Merlan titled â€Å"Should We Stop Putting Women in Prison?† where the author explores different ideas relating to women’s role in the penal system. She refers to an article printed in the Washington Post that tells about how some members of Britain’s House of Lords are advocatingRead MoreThe Political Landscape Of Venezuela1460 Words   |  6 Pagesof regime change that introduces Democratic principles, transitioning a government from an authoritarian regime to one where the people choose their leaders and are able to hold them accountable. The three explanations for a country s successful transition to Democracy are: â€Å"connect(ing) stable democracy with certain economic and social background conditions† (such as high income, widespread literacy, consensus), â€Å"the need for beliefs or certain psychological attitudes among citizens,† and the needRead MoreDifferences Between Du Bois And Marcus Garvey1688 Words   |  7 Pagesinterested in their own personal gains. In addition, globalization and economic partnership agreements with Asian and European nations have allowed African nations to operate independently and not trade with other African nations. Furthermore, some politicians have become the victims of other people’s agendas where propaganda is proposed against a united Africa. Consequently, when past Pan-African leaders promoted the unification for their nations, however; they were assassinated by Western society becauseRead MoreThe American Dream By James Truslow Adams1406 Words   |  6 Pageswho wrote that the American dream â€Å"is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth† (1931). I would say the American Dream today is a little different as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future. Many liberal economists and activists say that the American Dream is a lost cause as well as dead, but I wouldRead More Laura Briggs Reproducing Empire: Race, Sex, Science, and U.S. Imperialism in Puerto Rico1734 Words   |  7 Pagesthem; 2) though she doesnt name it as such, a historical employment of misconceptions of genetics and hereditary in exerting control over colonized subjects, the poor, and womens reproductive and sexual histories**; all of this located in a transition away from frank colonialism (198). This is also a story of the displacement of poverty caused by colonialism onto disease, difference, over-population, and the need for public health regulation from the mainland U.S among others BriggsRead MoreWomen s Rights During The Civil War1557 Words   |  7 Pagesdid not see a society ready to change, and thus, little work was done towards the women’s rights movement. According to Women’s Civil War History author Mary Elizabeth Massey, women’s rights activists before the Civil War were small in numbers, but opinionated (qtd in Hall 1-2). Dogmatic women’s rights activists were stuck in a world that deemed women as inferior, which created a society ripe for change; change that would make significant headway during the Civil War through the creation of the female-run