Decline of trust empathy and civic engagement in the United States Essay Example
Decline of trust empathy and civic engagement in the United States Essay Example

Decline of trust empathy and civic engagement in the United States Essay Example

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  • Pages: 7 (1661 words)
  • Published: August 8, 2016
  • Type: Essay
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The general purpose of this research is to demonstrate the need for strengthening the role of civic and community commitments in the civic engagement process by instilling a sense of trust, empathy and a sense of participation. All these are due to the incompetence of the government. The public response to the September 11 suggested decline of empathy in the United States. The Bush administration treatment of prisoners of war is such good show that empathy and intrusion are on the decline. Instead of using the Geneva Convention the president then unlawfully treat them inhumanely.

The underlying issue is that the American soldiers captured elsewhere should be treated according to the Geneva Convention but for president Bush observes that these prisoners do not deserve any fair treatment at all. Ther

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e is overgeneralization that anybody captured from war is just a terrorist and as such they are not exposed to appropriated trial. This is going against the democratic principles. Brutality in American prisons seems to be intensifying day in day out. In addition to this there is unfair treat of prisoners such drug offenders in the way the police pops into their homes at any hour of the day.

We can not be arresting people who are using for example marijuana and on the other hand there is consent over drinking alcohol and smoking of cigarettes. Death penalty has become a common phenomenon in the democratic America unlike other states recommend life imprisonment which actually restores human dignity. Due to this type of punishment in the Unites States many states are refusing to honor extradition to the United States if accused for

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fear of death penalty. Instead of giving the offenders necessary rehabilitation the United States has just narrowed it to severe punishment which is a cruel and unusual punishment.

More important empathy is on the decline because of the low religious values among many people and this has resulted to the disregard of humanity. Empathy involves the degree that individuals are sensitive to others people’s feeling and concerns. President Bush’s regime proposed more military build up and the spending estimated for the period of five years is $120billion. On the contrary there is a reduction in the in foreign aid assistance. The America that we adore has in the past embraced democracy and regard to human rights, offered aid to the suffering. But now see the situation has changed completely as America is losing its friends and allies in the world because of its doctorial interests that do not invite any democracy.

Empathy plays a very crucial role in enhancing Emotional intelligence Scientists began tracing the outlines of EI in the 1920s. By 1990 J. D. Mayer and P. Salovey had identified five EI domains under two overarching relational areas:

Interpersonal

Empathy involves the degree that individuals are sensitive to others’ feelings and concerns. Empathetic leaders are sensitive to the differences in how people feel about things. Such leaders are able to step outside themselves to evaluate situations from another perspective.

Handling Relationships describes how effectively leaders detect and manage the organization’s emotional environment. This requires developing a wide-ranging competence for sensing subtle shifts in the social atmosphere.

Intrapersonal

Self-Awareness involves purposeful monitoring of one’s emotional reactions to identify

feelings as they emerge.

Managing Emotions builds on the understanding of emotional origins derived from self-awareness to manage feelings appropriately as they arise.

Motivating one requires individuals to channel emotions effectively. Examples could include stifling impulses and delaying gratifications. (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002)

There is increased suspicion and distrust of public servants and this has lowered the United States exercise of democracy. Most elected people turn out to be opposite of what the general public thinks about them. Volgy interviewed several elected leaders and he found out that most of them once elected they are motivated by salaries. In politics in the trenches, volgy shows what relay happens behind the scenes of the government. He contrasts perception or appearance and reality. Based on this he observes that there are political flows in democracy which are necessary towards achieving political process.

There is also the losing of true democracy due to poor participation among the citizens in matters of state. This reason for this being high levels of mistrust that is associated with the leadership as they promise what they can not execute. (Volgy, 2001) The several causes of mistrust among the citizens in the United States of America include wrong policies put in place to favor the interpersonal interests. The internal political structures promote distrust among the people since this affects the foreign policies. This is because the policy makers usually ignore cooperate with other members which results in conflicts.

These forms of distrust can be overcome by making a series of unifying steps so as to come up with consistent policy. This means that the mistrust can cause

non-partisan to exaggerate the nature of their relationship. This has made many people to withdraw from all sorts of engagement with the United State of America government because there are no general agreements. The individual interests have now suspected the national interests of the people. People don’t care on any outcome and they are resigned to their own issues. (Putnam, 1993) Social capital is the actual resources linked to the possession of a durable network of more mutual understanding. Social capital disparity has also contributed to the decline of civic engagement.

Trust in people in the United States has declined as many people have become less engaged in their communities as well as the politics of their communities as well the politics of their state. This is a great concern; this is because it is perceived that a less trusting society is a less civic society. It is the duty of the state now to build this trust among the citizens in various ways. For instance the public can acquire trust through awareness and also being able to perform practical and tangible things. People are not born with trust but they acquire it as per the context. That is why trust closely associated with evidence.

Trust can be regained by the government satisfying the needs of the community. Social capital is useful methods of integrating the civic society to actively participate in the matters of state. In this case social capital is the process of those tangible substances that are most important for most people in their daily lives. This cultivated goodwill, fellowship, sympathy and social intercourse among those who make a social

unit. Social unity is very important for economic development. Social networks should be provided for by the government in order to create a consolidated society which creates a sense of belonging. Many countries in the world have lost trust to the United States because of it implementing matters of international nature single handedly.

The lack of empathy has made the administration face a lot of criticism within and outside. For example the verdict of disrespecting the international law to pursue a war based of on lies has greatly reduced the faith the world’s had about America. For the United States to improve its democracies civic community should actively participate in the development. Democratic countries have their citizens’ participation in carrying out activities meant for the common good of their state. The politics of virtue should endeavor to advance common good interests. It should be noted that when people are isolated from each other the conditions for freedom can easily be undermined. Therefore civic engage is very crucial towards the achievement of political equality and this can be done by the government approximating closely to the ideals of the society.

Trust between individuals thus becomes trust between strangers and trust of a broad fabric of social institutions; ultimately, it becomes a shared set of values, virtues, and expectations within society as a whole. Without this interaction, on the other hand, trust decays; at a certain point, this decay begins to manifest itself in serious social problems. The concept of social capital contends that building or rebuilding community and trust requires face-to-face encounters. (Volgy, 2001) Civic reintegration is very important in any society and it

is in this view that I propose a civic engagement intervention process that can be used to develop and test the impact of strategies that seek to strengthen commitments in a variety of citizenship domains.

Civic engagement practice and policy are expected to weaken barriers to the development of civic engagement as well as alter the community’s capacity to provide for the informal support and assistance. The restorative justice, decision-making and civic community service is therefore a panacea to effective civic participation. Civic engagement Citizenship in a civic community is characterized by active participation in public affairs. Being interested in public issues and prepared to be involved in debates and common activities are important signs of civic virtue.

To be sure, not all political activity deserves the label virtuous or not all people are able to contribute to the commonweal. A steady recognition and pursuit of the public good at the expense of all purely individual and private ends seems close to the core of the meaning of civic virtue in any citizens in a civic community. (Putnam, 1993) The good outcome should be that the offender will be able to recognize that neighborhood participants as being very helpful for an individual’s behavior change. And this is possible by offering them a wider connection to the community.

They get a special kind of feedback from this interaction and this make them will feel that many people care about me. community building enhances the quality of life and common good, then appropriate service should include those changes that impact personal and public identities of participants, provides assistance to those in need, or improves

either physical structure or the natural environment. While all service may in some way contribute to the common good, community building service uniquely seeks to impact the collective capacity for self-sufficiency and self-governance.

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