Civic Virtue

The United States prides itself on being a democratic republic where the people have the voice and the power to make a change. But with great power, comes great responsibility, a responsibility to participate in our democracy. Most notably, the Framers of our nation saw from past experiences that a dictatorship or rule of one inevitably leads to the rights of the people being infringed. So they gave the power to the people through the “consent of the govern” and a “social contract”. But this power only works when citizens participate through civic virtue and are willing to put the welfare of the nation above their personal interests. Only then will our democracy thrive.

Civic virtue is morality or a standard of righteous behavior in relation

Thus, the eighteenth-century Founders of the American Republic understood that there is a strong, reciprocal relationship between law and the social-cultural constitution of society. A critical foundation of public morality and civic virtue is necessary to support our Constitution. Without such virtue, the constitution cannot operate successfully or

In turn, corrupting the system of a representative democracy and becoming a nation of elites, what political scientist like to call the elite theory; where a small number of “elites” are the ones who make the decisions for the mass. Voting is one of the easiest ways to participate in our democracy - as that is what it relies on - so why has civic virtue failed us in this situation? Low turnout at the polls has confused scholars for decades because there is no one reason for this occurrence. But from numerous studies, conclusions have been made on why (Black). But, just because we have had low turnout rates in past elections, that does not mean we can’t change. Especially