In the State of Tennessee, ever so often qualified voters head to the polls to vote for our public officials. For some like Campbell County Mayor E.L Morton, election day determines whether he keeps his current job, or whether he will soon be drawing unemployment; however, for others like Sue Marlow, an Eligibility Counselor with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, election day is the day that she gets to vote for the person who she thinks is best for the office. Both Morton and Marlow are examples of how a person should exercise their civic responsibility. Current first term Campbell County Mayor E.L Morton, has been a public servant for most of his life, serving in the U.S Army, Executive Director of the Campbell County Chamber of
As such, it can be argued that Allen's approach is valuable in promoting a more engaged and responsible citizenry. However, as Barndt suggests, there is a need to address the systemic issues that exist in our society to ensure that all individuals have equal access to the democratic process. Overall, Allen's vision of political education is an important step towards promoting democratic participation and civic responsibility, but it must be accompanied by efforts to address the structural inequalities that exist in our
Through the fundamental ideals of the founding fathers the United States government has been sculpted into a variation of a democracy influenced by Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton. These men each provided concepts and qualities of their respective government that are directly reflected in the constitution and the bill of rights. Although, conflicting principals can be identified through each individual’s interpretation of a democracy, there is no doubt Madison, Jefferson, and Hamilton structured our government into what it is today. Madison described a democracy in which wealth needed to be equally distributed among the people in order to function.
One strength of a political party is that they are “essential institutions for the operation of the American government” (Barker, 2016, p. 1, para. 1). One of the functions of the political party is to be the middle person between citizens and “their elected government” (Barker, 2016, p. 4, para. 2) so that the people can feel as if their voices will be heard and the issues will be resolved. Although political parties should be for the people, one of the weaknesses is that “many believe that the major parties do not do an adequate job of
In Ohio a government class is required to graduate in public high schools, but that class can only scratch the surface on the knowledge someone would need to be truly informed. By just ignoring it, people just succumb to the system. If people took the time to be involved or at least educated on the Senate, House and parties they may be more satisfied with laws because they know how the decisions were made. Government is just something that everyone will be effected by for the rest of our lives so why not at least understand it instead of being controlled by
We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed
Madison believed that the key to preventing an unjust majority was a governing body that reflected the principle of representation for a very large and diverse base of constituents. Representation prevents unjust views and special interests from guiding and establishing public decisions. The role of the representative is also to listen to their body of constituents and overall public interests to promote a consensus founded on the good of the public. Madison believed that true representation is a two way line of communication between the representative and the represented, and from that an overall consensus can be reached. Madison’s ideas of representation are still very much a part of our government today, as seen in the very structure of our modern day legislative bodies from district to state as
Pizarro and the Conquistadors came to view the Inca civilization as a utopia where they could establish their power and control over for personal gain. The conquest would lead to drastic change that would forever change the future of the region and continent. The role of the catholic religion justified the often inhumane acts such as rampant murder and abuse of the native population with the grounded justification that they [the conquistadors] were performing a service in the name of god. “as human beings, Indians were not exempt from original sin...abhorrent customs, sexual practices, family structure, religious rituals, and presumed human sacrifices were all sinful” (pg 21). The quote demonstrates just one of the many ‘justifiable’ reasons the conquistadors felt that their acts of violence were
The American government acts as the beating heart of the body. The heart allows blood to flow throughout the whole system. Without a heart, blood would remain unable to move as a collective whole. Both authority and its citizens must work simultaneously; one cannot function without the other. Jefferson expands upon the symbiotic relationship and reveals the ideal partnership between the people’s rights and the state.
As the Latino population of the United States continues to burgeon, so does its influence in all aspects of American society. The far-reaching influence of Latinos has exploded in the past few decades, with 17% of the U.S. population who identify as Latino controlling over $1.5 trillion USD in spending power. A section of society where Latino influence continues to rise is in the American political process and the formation of public policy. Latinos have managed to fill a vacant position in nearly every spot of government, culminating with a U.S. Latino holding a crucial stake in a fierce battle for the presidency. As Latinos continue to grow in size and influence, attention should be invested in promoting civic engagement and enhancing political representation of Latinos at all levels of government.
Isaiah McGuire It Takes One The writer personifies fear, and uses references from history and religion to convince students that they individually could change the world. The writer explains that having fear is bad. The writer does this by making fear appear as a criminal.
The United States prides itself on being a democratic nation that serves its citizens, yet its voting system throws democracy away in favor of efficiency. Even on the state level, not all states are represented equally when electoral votes are distributed. Finally, the Electoral College discourages third-party candidates from running, giving too much power to the two political parties of the nation and robbing the nation’s citizens from potential leaders who could change the country for the better if they could win the
The United States currently faces a severe problem with one of their governmental processes. In the democratic system of the United States, politicians are elected by voting from the citizens, in most cases. The problem the United States is facing is that people are no longer voting in elections for officials. This problem is discussed in the article, “In praise of low voter turnout”, written by Charles Krauthammer. The main idea behind this article is that voters are no longer interested in politics, as they were in previous generations.
Through voting we are responsible on who gets into office. Elected representatives are responsible more many choices
In the United States, people always talk about freedom and equality. Especially they want elections could be more democratic. In American Democracy in Peril, Hudson’s main argument regarding chapter five “Election Without the People’s Voice,” is if elections want to be democratic, they must meet three essential criteria, which are to provide equal representation of all citizens, to be mechanisms for deliberation about public policy issues, and to control what government does. Unfortunately, those points that Hudson mentions are what American elections do not have. American elections do not provide equal representation to everyone in the country.
