This was my second year traveling with the school and CloseUp program, and as a senior who wants to be more involved in local politics, I learned how to build my democratic efficacy and how to be more active in my community.
This being my second time, it really did differ from the first. For example, we got to go to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on MLK Day this year, and we saw so many people celebrating his life, hard work and dedication to civil rights. When I got to go last year, it felt rushed and we had cut our exploration time at the site. It had felt like it was not as of much significance as the others that I had seen during last year’s trip. We focused on the same three principles again: Liberty, Justice and Equality. Last time, even though I had felt like I had a deeper understanding of the meaning of those principles, I did not. Last year I felt most aligned with the idea of liberty, this year I feel aligned with each of the three and what they mean. What Justice, Equality and Liberty mean to me is the fundamental rights of all American citizens.
Not only did we learn about those principles, but we also learned political values to help build democratic efficacy, such as being open-minded and understanding that we come from diverse backgrounds. Being from different backgrounds means we will all have different views on different topics. For example, we had a debate on one of the days where it was about how much federal funding should go to different agencies or organizations. While debating, most people in my workshop had agreed that it should be equal, but people from Florida felt like it should go more towards FEMA (the federal agency responsible for giving funding after disasters) and agencies like theirs, due to them getting so many weather issues. Did our backgrounds make us disagree? Yes. However, it also made us stronger because we heard all the different ideas on topics and were able to compromise, which is what I think went particularly well this trip. As someone who is already having ideas shaped in their own mind and starting to find their own political values, I think it was good that we incorporated a lot more discussion like this and really got to know everyone’s different ideas due to those backgrounds.
Overall, I would recommend that everyone take this trip regardless of whether they are interested in politics or not. It teaches you how to be not only active in government but also in your community. It helps you make stronger bonds and you meet people you never thought you would. I am so grateful I got to go for the last two years.
