Part I: Why Didn’t I (or They) Think of That? Though all 23 proposals in A More Perfect Constitution make a compelling case to help mend the flaws of today’s government, there are two that stand out that will greatly improve our country. In chapter one, Sabato begins to explain the national debt stating that “these numbers matter greatly for the future of the nation”- and that they do. In just six years, “America’s total liabilities and unfunded commitments…have soared from about $20 trillion to about $50 trillion” (150).
Our government is weak and powerless. We’re the laughing stalk of all the nations, but that can all be change with the Constitution. With the Constitution comes a stronger government, more power for you, the people of America, more rights and protection,
This government in America that people praise and protect everyday, has flaws and people who are corrupt. A recent example would be the Dakota Access Pipeline. Native Americans have been discriminated against since the pilgrims first arrived. Forced to move west due to the white settlers taking over the their territory and kill many who refuse to do what they say, caused the Native Americans to lose their land and dreams. This is similar to what is happening today.
A president is truly affective when he is able to get his policy agenda through Congress. For him to do this, it is paramount that he has the support from the majority of the public. When a president is unpopular, members of Congress will have little incentive to pass his preferred legislation, since doing so will potentially have negative consequences for them (i.e. not winning reelection). It is also important that the president be a competent negotiator if he is to get his agenda passed. It is unrealistic for a president to expect that he will get all aspects of a particular agenda item passed without making his concessions.
That so interesting to hear and I think that since our founding of the nation, the Constitution can be referred to ask the "bible" of this country. The Founding Fathers worked so hard to be independent and create a nation that was different, but one that could work for many centuries. After two centuries and five decades it has seemed to work and it would be very hard to change something that so many of us are used, too. There are times when it may seem that our system is failing, much of the public doesn't blame the system when things go wrong, we tend to blame those who are in office or Congress. What makes our governmental system so different and unique is that people are more willing to go vote for the president and want their voice to
The other side to the argument may say our country has become corrupt and is now nothing like the Founding Fathers had intended. Our government has gained too much power and our branches have not grown as equals.
A quick look at our government today reveals a political system that has twisted and corrupted the principles set down by the Constitution. The national government has slowly over the course of 200 or so years, wrested the power of the state government away and consolidated government power in the national government. Furthermore, the system of checks and balances has also been abused as the executive branch in particular has reached beyond its constitutional boundaries to accomplish its goals. Some of these power shifts have been done in the name of the greater good, and some of its effects have been positive. But each change takes our nation further from the country our Founding Fathers envisioned in the Constitution and closer to the brink of total ruin, whether anarchy or dictatorship.
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, once said, “The Constitution was not made to fit us like a straight jacket. In its elasticity lies its chief greatness.” In 1787 the delegates from twelve out of thirteen sates attended the Constitutional Convention. They threw away the Articles of Confederation and wrote Constitution of the United States. Many residences were hesitant to the sudden change, but as time went along people came around to the fact that the Constitution was useful.
The Government is the ultimate ruler of the people, sets the ultimate laws of the land and says what goes and when not pleased uses all the means in their power to influence. The basic functions of the United States government are listed in the Constitution. Due to the immense power of our federal government, people often argue that it is too powerful and should be lessened. Sub further the state governments use a sum of power to do the same. There has been an effort to shift power from the federal government to the states.
The United States Government can be described in two ways. There is unified government, which appears when the President and both houses of congress share the same party. Divided government is the opposite, it occurs when one party controls the white house, and another party controls one or more houses of Congress. A unified government should seem to be more productive because enacting laws would be much easier. A bill has to pass through both houses of congress as well as the president before it can be an official law.
A lot of our government structure is derived from Greek and Roman practices; from how we call out government systems, like the Senate, to the architecture, and even the governmental structure and power concentration. How can this be done? Looking at the very earliest of western civilization's roots, we have two seemingly contradictory government systems, the Spartans, and the Athenians. The Athenians took the government of a democracy. In this system, every man gets a vote on the political practices.
Today’s what is considered a constitutional monarchy was the best form of government as viewed by Aristotle. As given in the textbook, this form of government, known as the polity, was that which provided what was the majority interest and therefore gave every citizen a voice in the matter of government. In other words, citizens rule and in turn are ruled. This means of popular sovereignty gives citizens the right to choose their laws and their leader, while still having protection of their rights through some sort of constitution. On the opposing view, Aristotle saw democracy as the worst form of government because it was polity’s corrupt counterpart in which the rule of the government and of the people were “in the interests of themselves.”
The history of America has always been pretty straightforward, but the same cannot be said for what Americans can expect from our government. Since 1781 till today how Americans perceive the government has changed throughout periods of time. Americans can expect the federal government to preserve the rights granted to individuals all the while leaving our society predominantly free until government intervention is needed. When creating the new nation our government set up three branches; executive, legislative, and judicial. The executive branch is in charge of making laws official, the legislative branch makes the laws, while the judicial branch is in charge of the courts and making sure each law is constitutional.
Many Americans may have viewed the government as a source of comfort. It had provided them with services such as health care, a stable economy, security, and the ability to prosper (Cantor 281). Since the World War two era, we as a society have lost our trust in our government system.
What is a perfect government? Is it an ideal place for any person? A utopia? Throughout the history of the world, there have been several different forms of government, ranging from monarchies, dictatorships, republics, and even anarchy. Respectively each of these types governments have their best and worst decisions.
