As a citizen of the United States my reflections towards the United States government is a positive one where I feel that my freedoms are more secure than anywhere else. Although this is largely just a complex that the world recognizes in Americans, the ability to see many levels of transparency of government, especially local coverage is one reason why I believe we have one of the most free lifestyles available. The obvious levels of accountability fall within the elections of the representatives through the executive and legislative branches. These representatives obviously make up the policy that governs our everyday lives and freedoms, but also choose the judiciary that reviews those laws and policies.
In my experience I have seen the interactions of government, especially on a local scale. Being from a county just outside of Richmond, Virginia, I had a lot of interaction with the local council when I was in high school. I was working on my Eagle Scout project during most of that time so I had meetings with city planners to discuss the expansion of commerce districts towards rural areas to spread out businesses. Additionally, I spoke with the local co-op group about planning my project with the VA hospital. In my experience local government is a sincere group of people who want to help their direct community, but it seems that the higher up you go the more likely the chance of corruption lies. I believe this is due to the fact that the stakes are higher and there is more reward for the risk in terms of corruption.
I do not have any direct personal connections to federal politics asides from what I have read in the news and seen from afar. I believe it is harder to regulate this level of politics because it is far less transparent, mainly due to national security concerns. The reason presidential elections have nearly 60% participation while local elections don’t even come close to that is an illustration as to how people view federal politics to be more important. I for one don’t even know the names on my local city board, but have a good idea as to who the governor, senators, and congressmen are where I live.
All in all, I obviously support America, and as my experience has told me it is a great place. Never have I felt that my rights have been invaded (outside of VMI), but I feel that with this better government comes higher stakes in the political process.