Civic Mirror has completely subverted my impressions on what a simulation can provide. Election campaigns, House of Commons, and even the Hex Auction are activities covered in Civic Mirror that share common traits with the “real world” in terms of political practices. From four years of CM participation, I consider my gains in political knowledge successful, and my personal thoughts on the overall simulation have also been gradually emerging. By integrating and analyzing the ideas taught in class lectures and the experiences I have been through in CM, I was able to enhance my understanding of what it means to be a democratic country, how political ideology plays a great role in Civic Mirror, and how Civic Mirror is similar to and different from the “real world.”
Along with the guidelines on the formation of a democratic country, my country, Verdansk, was a country created strictly following the principles of democracy. A belief in the equality of all people in Verdansk, acceptance of citizens’ participation in political issues, and the idea that no one was above the law were some of the basic concepts that form a democratic country. Verdansk not only fulfilled them but would also consider and adjust regulations from the citizens’ perspectives at a more advanced level. A “town hall,” which took place every summer, was considered one of the most impactful events for all citizens in Verdansk. Concerns, opinions, and thoughts could all be presented when citizens discuss and deliberate over a wide range of issues in a circle discussion. With consistent participation in the town hall over four CM years, I found it really interesting how everybody was so engaged during the discussion. Arguments were not rare during town halls, but they were extremely effective when considering the progression for development in Verdansk. Moreover, when citizens voiced out their concerns about regulations done by the government and the major deficiencies that most of the citizens lacked, the government would always take them into consideration and make improvements on them. This type of action further embodies the responsibilities a democratic country should consist in. As simulations provided us with practical experiences, I was able to understand how the democratic principles are applied in democracy to a more in-depth degree and obtained the ability to comprehend the components that form up Canada.
A political ideology largely concerns itself with how to allocate power to a certain extent, and this idea was one of the most significant factors that make a country unique. In Verdansk, all citizens were set with different ideologies provided by their random, hidden agenda. Objectives are also listed to help citizens enhance their understanding of their roles, and force the citizens to attempt doing them. This concept became very crucial when tons of citizens in Verdansk held completely opposite ideologies. Conflicts could not be avoided and would gradually appear from the far right to the far left of the political spectrum. From the aforementioned concerns, I was able to realize and understand that decisions and actions people made directly reflected their values to society. For example, when a citizen supported the ideology of capitalism, it would be quite obvious to determine it, as a capitalist citizen exhibited unique characteristics. By simply taking a glance at who had the most money in their assets may give you the answer. Before the CM simulation started, I was innocent enough to think that working with best buddies might result in an overall gain; however, this was completely incorrect and could potentially lead to a negative result, as all citizens were for themselves. A way to efficiently work with others in CM is to cooperate with citizens that value civic issues similar to what you would do. This is done by carefully observing their actions and opinions during activities and considering their perspectives on what they believe in.
By comparing Civic Mirror and the “real world” situations, I was able to discover some of the similarities that show, as well as some differences that can be distinguished between the two platforms. In terms of similarities, the simulation can simulate most of the situations in real life. For instance, without food, family members will die from starvation, and it will be hard to survive if a family does not have a shelter to live in. On the political level, CM provides us with the opportunity to participate in simulated political events that hold similarities to the “real world,” such as the town hall, election, and court jurisdiction. Additionally, the multi-party system used in Verdansk was successfully connected to what most democratic countries around the world, including Canada, would do. On the other hand, I found differences between CM and the “real world” to be especially dominant in the way a person thinks. When citizens made decisions in Civic Mirror, they could not go along with their own will because they must fulfill their hidden agenda. As citizens’ beliefs strictly surrounded their hidden agendas, they could neither go against it nor have the ability to alter their political ideology throughout the whole simulation. This concept becomes crucial when applied to political events, such as the election campaigns that take place every two Civic Mirror years. During elections held in CM, citizens are unintentionally forced to vote for the political party that they believe consists in similar political ideology as they do or will vote for the political party to which they belong. This idea will not be changed throughout the entire gameplay as the hidden agenda is a fixed value. This is the part that really frustrated me over the CM experience because the result of an election has always been dependent on the number of people who hold similar hidden agendas. Like how a citizen thinks cannot be changed in CM, it has always been that one political party that gets in power over four CM years. This type of flaw in CM really interfered with me and some other citizens and prevented us from meeting our hidden agendas. Whereas in the “real world”, people are not constrained by political ideologies. They may change their decisions anytime when they discover a better replacement. Therefore, I can conclude that citizens in Verdansk consider the hidden agenda as their main priority, which makes promised welfare and benefits during election campaigns by the political party mean less compared to the situation in the “real world.”
About Civic Mirror:
Civic Mirror is a simulation that turns classrooms into countries, students into citizens, and teachers into 21st-century educators.
Imagine a 12th Grade class so exciting that every student showed up on senior skip day because they didn’t want to miss the action. Imagine a civics class where students laughed about how addicting it was? Imagine a history class where students spent their lunch hour negotiating out-of-court settlements, legislative wordings, and business deals? These are true stories. These are Civic Mirror stories. Unlike most social studies programs that ask students to learn about things, The Civic Mirror allows students to experiment with the course content. It provides students with a voice and enlivens the curriculum by turning them into citizens of their own country, with their own families, government, court, economy, and environment. The Civic Mirror also makes it easy for teachers to be dynamic and effective. Because the website and companion manuals provide teachers everything they need, it literally saves hours upon hours of hair-pulling time trying to innovate, and it virtually guarantees student participation in the classroom.
Source: http://civicmirror.com/about/overview
