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Course: High school civics > Unit 1
Lesson 1: What does it mean to be a citizen?Civic life, private life, politics, and government
Civic life involves participating in society to solve community problems, distinct from private life. Politics is the action of reaching group agreements, while government is the institution enforcing laws. Understanding these concepts helps us engage effectively in society. Created by Kimberly Kutz.
Want to join the conversation?
- At around3:48, the narrator states that: "The Supreme Court is part of a governing body that enforces the rules". What governing body is the narrator referring to? The Supreme Court is THE governing body that interprets the rules and the part of the government it is a part of is the Judicial Branch whereas the Executive Branch enforces the rules. Maybe the narrator is referring to the US government as a whole as the governing body in the statement but I think this might confuse some folks just learning this and having recently learned about the three Branches jobs. What do you think, did this confuse you?(7 votes)
- The governing body that the narrator is probably referring to the US government. It confused me initially, but I'm pretty sure it's the government as it's three branches that make up the government :)(5 votes)
Video transcript
- [Instructor] In this video,
we're going to talk about how people can interact with, influence, and participate in society. When you do so, you're
participating in civic life, which is distinct from your private life. Private life includes all the
ways that you pursue happiness through relationships,
hobbies, or your job, that is, if you're not
a member of government. Civic life includes all the
ways that you might take part in solving the problems of your community, whether that's by
volunteering in civil society, making rules or laws, or
serving in a government body, whether that's the school
council or the U.S. Senate. So if you like playing video games, playing for fun is part
of your private life. But if you joined a group petitioning for more representation of diverse characters in video games, you'd be entering into civic life. Then you're not just doing things that make you happy individually. You're striving to have an
effect on the lives of others. So when you step into civic life, you will become involved
with politics and government. Although you often hear
them lumped together, they're not actually the same thing. You could say that politics is something that you do, an action. Politics encompasses all the ways that people reach agreements in a group, by negotiating, compromising, or voting. And those people might
not agree with each other, but through the political process, they agree to be bound by the rules that they've negotiated together. So in the large scale, politics describes both
how Congress debates bills and how you and your brother
decide who does the dishes. Then there's government. Government is a noun, and it describes both the institutions like the Supreme Court or the city council which make and enforce laws, as well as the people who
serve in those institutions. So government could describe both FIFA, the international
governing body for soccer, as well as the referee whose
job it is to enforce the rules that soccer teams and
players agree to abide by. Okay, so now that you've
learned about civic life, private life, politics, and
government, here's a pop quiz. I'm gonna give you a few scenarios, and you see if you can match
them to the correct term. First up, Ayla's church
provides food and shelter for the homeless community
during the winter to keep them out of the cold. Is this an example of
civic life, private life, politics, or government? Pause the video here
and see what you think. If you guessed civic life, you're correct. Ayla is participating in what
we call civil society here, which you might remember
from another video. Civil society includes all
of the voluntary institutions that people form and join outside of government and the market. She's doing something for her community. Okay, next. The Supreme Court hears a case about internet copyright
law and the First Amendment. Is this an example of
civic life, private life, politics, or government? This is government. The Supreme Court is
part of a governing body that enforces the rules. Okay, last one. Jeffrey, a representative for the AARP, reaches out to Senator Rodriguez
to provide more information on the impact a bill making its way through the House will
have on senior citizens. He wants to secure Senator
Rodriguez's support when the bill reaches the Senate. Is this an example of
civic life, private life, politics, or government? If you guessed politics, you're right. Jeffrey is providing information, hoping to influence a decision
that will affect others. Okay, thanks for playing. Keep practicing your skills in
the exercise for this lesson.