Civic Engagement Research Paper

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I believe that civic engagement plays an integral part in how well a society functions. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), civic engagement is defined as any action, individual or collective, that is designed to find and resolve issues that are prominent in society. This includes a wide array of activities whether that be volunteering individually or through an organization to being an active individual in political matters. Examples of these activities include volunteering at a local homeless shelter or soup kitchen, being a member of a neighborhood home owner’s association, or even writing letters to elected officials requesting changes in laws and voting for said laws (American Psychological Association). I believe that the definition given by the APA is an accurate representation of what should be encompassed in civil engagement and that both volunteering and being active in sociopolitical activities are both equally important to society.

There are many reasons why older adults should be allowed to choose the type of civil engagement activities they would like to participate in. One major argument for allowing both volunteering and …show more content…
Although both of these are inevitable some individuals might have less deterioration in one or the other. If an older adult does suffer from one of these problems severely they would still be able to help and stay relevant in society if we keep the definition of civil engagement broader. A person suffering from cognitive skill loss might not be able to contribute anything of value to political or societal discussions but they would definitely be able to volunteer for many organizations and help society in that manner. On the other hand, a person suffering from physical deterioration will still have very knowledgeable incite to offer society through the means of legislation or policy

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