Sunday, October 6, 2013

Written Assignment #7

This question is directed at one of the core assessment items established by the state of Texas.

Personal Responsibility

Operational Definitions: Students will demonstrate the ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision making.

The Ethics of Voting

Despite your young age (at least at heart), you have already been bombarded with messages about the importance of voting and participating in the politics, including in this class. But both voting and participation carry with it the responsibility that you stay informed in order to make sensible, justifiable – ethical - decisions. As you also know, in the complex political world American live in, this takes time. We also have lives to live and other responsibilities that require out attention.

I want you to address this issue in the following question(s): How much time and effort should reasonable, ethical citizens spend educating themselves prior to deciding how to position themselves on public policy issues and how to vote? What types of shortcuts are and are not acceptable? Is there a responsibility for citizens with low information to not vote in an election?

You can take this in as many directions you choose, but your answer should focus on what it takes to be a responsible citizen and the degree to which this involves informed voting.


Write at least 150 words, turn it in by October 14