POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT

---

Unit Summary

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?

Politics is a part of everyday life.

Young adults have a role to play in public life.

Students should be able to give some examples of people who have served the public good.

Public life has rewards and frustrations, but ignoring its challenges undermines our democracy.

Becoming a citizen does not just happen. Citizenship results from the actions, habits and beliefs of individuals committed to public life. It means being the kind of person who finds out about public issues, makes his or her opinion heard and listens to others respectfully. It means getting involved. It means being part of the solution to the challenges of public life.

KEY TERMS or CONCEPTS

Apathy: Lack of feeling or emotion; lack of interest or concern.

Constituent: A person who is a member of a unit of government from which an official is elected.

Compromise: Settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions; something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things.

Courage: Mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship; implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty.

Cynicism: Having or showing the attitude or temper of a cynic; especially, contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives.

Engagement: emotional involvement or commitment.

Justice: The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments; the administration of law; especially, the establishment or determination of rights according to the rules of law or equity; the quality of being just, impartial, or fair; the principle or ideal of just dealing or right action.