In a democracy, people are supposed to be able to tell the government what they want and how the country should be run (organized and managed). In reality, that’s not exactly how American democracy works. However, on September 22, 2011, a new feature appeared on the White House website that gives Americans a new way to give the government their two cents (opinion). It is called “We the People.”
This website allows Americans to write an electronic petition and to gather (collect) signatures. A petition is a written request to the people in power who can make the changes or do the things you request. A petition usually states what the petitioners (people asking) want and also contains the signatures (hand-written name) of the people who want to show their support for the petition. “We the People” is an opportunity for citizens (people who officially belong to a country) to send in their ideas and to provide solutions to a number of different political problems in the country. Petitions have long been used in the American political system, but in the past, petitions were written or printed, and people had to sign their names to it in person.
On this website, any American can start a petition, but it must get the support of other Americans. First, for it to appear on the White House website and be searchable (able to be found by doing a computer search), it must receive at least 150 signatures within 30 days. Second, to receive a response from the White House staff (workers), the petition must get at least 100,000 signatures within 30 days. (Before January 2013, that number was just 5,000. I guess the website has become too popular and there isn’t enough staff to respond to all of the most popular petitions.)
As you can imagine, there are serious and not so serious petitions. A not so serious petition was submitted in 2012. The petition asked the government to construct (build) a Death Star. If you have seen any of the Star Wars movies, then you know what the Death Star is. It is a fictional (not real) space station the size of the moon that is armed (supplied with) many weapons and is very powerful, powerful enough to destroy a planet, like the Earth. Creating a Death Star, the petitioners said, would stimulate (cause something to work better, more, and/or faster) the economy and create jobs. The petition received enough signatures to receive a response, which the government released in January of 2013. It was a humorous (funny), tongue-in-cheeck (using irony (using words that mean the opposite and not showing seriousness or respect)) letter.
First, a Death Star could not be built, the letter said, because the cost is estimated to be 852 quadrillion dollars ($850,000,000,000,000,000). Second, at the current rate of steel (strong metal) production, it would take 833,000 years to construct. Finally, the letter said: “The Administration (government) does not support blowing up (causing to explode and to be destroyed) planets.” You can the read the entire response here.
So, the answer was no.
Some people have criticized the “We the People” website saying that the petitions are not taken seriously and that they don’t really cause any change. In fact, there is a petition asking the government to shut down (close) the website because it is “worthless.”
Still, there are many serious petitions. For example, there are petitions asking the government to reexamine (look again at) gun control (allowing people to buy and own guns and other weapons) laws and to establish new federal (national) holidays. You can see current petitions by clicking on “view the petitions” here.
Are petitions used in your country to change the government?
P.S. To learn why the website is called “We the People,” listen to English Cafe 92, in which Jeff talks about the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution.