Informed Citizenry - Free Essay Example

â€Å"An informed citizenry will benefit from applying both creative thinking and critical thinking in solving the challenges of our society. † The definition of an informed citizen is having sufficient and sufficiently reliable information or knowledge to be able to understand a subject or situation and make appropriate judgments or decisions regarding it. If I had to have a personal definition on an informed citizen I would say that it means involving ourselves with the overall knowledge of politics to the point that we can exercise our views and opinions in a responsible way. The definition for creative is using or showing use of the imagination to create new ideas or things. The definition for critical thinking is disciplined intellectual criticism that combines research, knowledge of historical context, and balanced judgment. To really evaluate those words should be the first approach to changing yourself. I say that because if a person did not possess any of those qua lities, then they should because the opportunities that those two words contain are limitless. When the topic of politics comes up in a discussion, it is almost like having a discussion about religion. What I mean by that is whenever a discussion on religion or politics comes up; people get into these deep discussions about what’s right and what’s wrong. No matter how close you are to your friends or family, this discussion usually draws opinions out into the open that cause conflict. In general I would say that this is a normal outcome because as human beings it is natural to have opinions and it’s our right to express them freely. Just because we have the right to express our opinion, does that mean that we should express it? Being an informed citizen should be the first thing to do when getting into a discussion about politics. I know that many people have heard the saying â€Å"knowledge is power†, well the fact of the matter is, that’s t rue. Education is just the basics of becoming an informed citizen. You have to be able to absorb everything around you about everything and be able to tie it into one summary efficiently. You can tell the difference between a random somebody and an informed citizen expressing their opinions. Could you imagine what the world would be like if more than half of the population was considered informed citizens. Well if you think that is crazy, let’s take it up a notch and imagine if all the informed citizens used critical and creative thinking towards solving challenges in our society. The opportunities will always be limitless, when it comes to informed citizenry. Politics have like an unspoken code that really requires a lot in order to be listened to. Education is a key factor when it comes too really to having an opportunity to be heard. I personally feel that the government is well aware of the fact that most people are not informed citizens. Also I feel they know that we will always have our own opinion, but the government knows that people will not do nothing about it because people don’t know how to. There are many challenges in society that honestly do need attention, but it seems like it’s the same story over and over; war first! To a lot of people, politics are a boring subject. Why do we think this is boring when it constantly affects us everyday in everything that we do? Well I guess that is because the government is good at playing the background and letting us think that things are they way they are and will not change. For example, I personally have not seen more people mad at the government and ready to give them a piece of their mind since the whole gas crisis. If we, as Americans, took more care in ourselves and considered ourselves to be informed citizens and critical and creative thinkers, we would be in a way better position. When it comes to creative and critical thinking it goes far beyond the government and pol itics. There are also other topics that affect us that the government has their hands in. For example education is a very big challenge that we face on a day to day basis in America. It is simple to see that there are some cities that are not providing sufficient education for our youth. How unfair we all see this to be, but what can we say we have done. That is where critical thinking comes into play. I mean that is only if you want to have a helping hand in changing your own future. One thing I will admit is I have totally missed out on a lot of opportunities because I bit my tongue. Until today I never heard of informed citizenry and I wonder how many other people out there don’t know what that is. Not knowing something is a big disadvantage with this society. They preach very hard about education and how everybody would go to school and make something of themselves. What people don’t know is that there is more too it than just an education, its about learning everything not just a trade. I had to do a great amount of research to get a good understanding on what it means to be an informed citizen. The definition for creative is using or showing use of the imagination to create new ideas or things. The definition for critical thinking is disciplined intellectual criticism that combines research, knowledge of historical context, and balanced judgment. To really evaluate those words should be the first approach to changing yourself. I say that because if a person did not possess any of those qualities, then they should because the opportunities that those two words contain are limitless.