Petition system integral to democratic government

In an attempt to “connect with the people,” the U.S. government made a website, www.petitions.whitehouse.gov, earlier this year that allows the respectable, sensible and patriotic citizens of America to petition President Obama and the White House for respectable, sensible and patriotic reasons. 

Despite the somewhat frivolous nature of some petitions such as the infamous Death Star petition, which advocated for an operational government replica of a “Star Wars” spaceship, the petition system itself is hardly a waste of time. Most of the petitions that make it past the 25,000-signature benchmark are important and address issues like AIDS prevention and firearm rights. 

Even the Death Star petition had its uses. It didn’t demonstrate the inefficiency of the government, as some humanoid sour grapes have opined. Rather, it did the opposite, with the administration promptly responding with an official statement: “The Administration does not support blowing up planets.”

Ultimately, this petition system provides a valuable, direct connection between the people and the government. It allows for more openness between the government and its citizens, and helps the administration to gauge the opinion of the people. Best of all, it helps get things done faster than the people of the House, who tend to be rather slow in making decisions … hence the current sequestration.

For example, there was a petition on the repealing of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that was enacted in 1996 and defined marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman. 

The petition gained enough signatures to catch the attention of the House, and was successful in quickly securing more equal rights in marriage and health care for LGBT citizens via public pressure.

Petitions express the collective opinion of a large group of people, helping further their cause.  In some countries like China, petitions don’t make a whit of difference to the government or the people, the latter of whom don’t have rights like freedom of speech.

America is different. The petitions system expands on our First Amendment rights, and that should be something to be grateful for. After all, where else on Earth can 34,000 people ask the government to make a Death Star, and get an official response?