December 11th, 2008
E-petitions give e-voices for e-democracy and e-revolution
A petition, right from the heart of the University of Kent where I currently study, is attempting to persuade the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, away from new immigration laws targeting international students entering UK universities.
Whilst the topic itself is a controversial one; essentially forcing university lecturers and professors to “spy on” international students to ensure they are not defrauding the university, and their visa to study there. What I find interesting is the ability ordinary folks have to make their voices heard to the highest levels of government.
Whilst the UK government couldn’t really back down from the initial experimentation phase because of all the press it had gotten, Australia followed suit, but it hasn’t made a huge impact to the citizens of the United States. Fair enough, Michigan has an e-petitioning system in place, but it’s hardly federal government, is it?
By simply signing a petition online, a name and address to put forward your opinion to a worthy cause, it’s so remarkably easy which requires little-to-no effort. For students this is the most perfect thing around; not everybody has time to stand in front of a tank, join a riot, man a guillotine or spark an on-campus revolution.
Some may criticise students for not getting involved with politics as they used to. However, some “can’t be arsed”, and some simply don’t have the inclination for it. With e-petitions, any UK citizen can make their voice heard, and with the power of Facebook and other social networking websites to spread the word, enough people can spark a revolution.
Would this be something the US could really do with? Will Obama start such a movement?
Zack Whittaker, the youngest in the ZDNet network, is a British student at the University of Kent, Canterbury, where he studies BA (Hons) Criminology and Social Policy. His insight into the next-generation is unique and first-hand, sharing his knowledge of the here and now but more so what's next and how to get there.
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