Chapter 5

I find it hard to decide completely on the issue of race. I am from a minority group, and am still of the opinion that I lean more toward the government doing too much. For too long, the minority has quickly become the majority and is overtaking policies, opportunities, etc. I think the government pushed too hard to make opportunities available for minorities to the point that they took from their majority (at the time) and did not realize until too late. And now we find ourselves with a black president and think “If I say something about the minority being allowed too many things or about the President being inadequate, illegal, and useless then I become a racist”. If you push this fear onto people, the fear becomes reality. This has always been my motto. If I fear something too much, the fear becomes reality. I may be one of the only to have this opinion, but how many times have you seen the “minority groups” have things handed to them while the “majority groups” still barely scrape by (and yes, I know, some of them by lack of effort, but we’re looking at the bigger picture).

When it comes to gender, I think the government has done well in creating equality. There will always be a crazy feminist who still believes the government still creates different standards for men vs. women. However, very rarely have I ever found myself in a situation where society, business, or government has treated me different just because I am a woman. I believe these days it is your responsibility to show you capabilities as a human and use this to overshadow what gender you just happen to be. If you show yourself strong, capable, and willing to put forth the effort then you shouldn’t be facing discrimination. And if you find yourself subject to such discrimination, there are many ways to go about confronting these issues and gaining your equality and fair treatment.

I’m not religious, nor am I homosexual. While I do not support either religion OR homosexuality, I believe to each his own. Personally, I have no point of view when it comes to marriage, relationships, etc. I feel as though it is their choice to decide. While I would never put myself into that situation, it isn’t my life or my body. I will state however that I do NOT believe you are “born” that way. But, as for the government, in my opinion views always flip flop. Where some political leaders feel it is a personal choice, others feel it is a cardinal sin as an AMERICAN to be homosexual. I feel that even if the government creates these regulations, it won’t matter. There isn’t truly a way the government can prevent this in America and the government also does NOT have the right to.

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Chapter 4 Blog

Freedom of speech is a very important freedom given by the Bill of Rights, perhaps one of the most important. I believe that when this amendment was put into place an optimistic view was placed on Americans resulting in too broad a playing field for those citizens without consideration of others. In a way, the freedom did go too far. Now, with the restrictions placed on the “freedom of speech” I believe there is more control. As a child who suffered from racism through school and many other harassing situations, I support the restrictions on freedom of speech. My children will grow up in the same country where people have become more vocal on their opinions whether it be positive or negative. 
I also believe separation of church and state IS necessary. There are many religious people in the nation, but just as well there are many who are not involved in religion. In order for these citizens to all feel the same equality (whether they admit this or not) I believe it is only fair to keep the separation in order. 
I also believe defendant’s rights ARE crucial. (Apparently I see no flaws with the Bill of Rights! Go me!) Just as everyone who has been victimized deserves just representation, so do those who victimized others. If we still chose to hang someone without allowing for a trial or opportunity to plead their case, there would be many innocent people punished for crimes that were either made up completely or unjustly placed upon their shoulders. It is important for these rights to be in place. 

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Chapter 3 Blog assignment

I personally believe having a strong national government is necessary to ensure order and fairness for our country. If we left the majority of the power up to the states, I believe we would encounter rebellions and possibly civil wars. If states believe they can create order of their own accord, it would be an ultimate failure. With such a division of political idealism these days, every state would be different. States like California would support gay marriage, abortion, and a more liberal view point on things. Other states could be completely against even the thought of these. I think the issues of gay marriage, abortion, racism, gun control, and more highly controversial topics would divide the nation multiple ways. If we allowed each state to have their own ruling, what’s to stop the fighting, the amount of court cases, and the danger it would have on the young in the nation. While the national government may not always make the best decisions or the decisions our citizens hope for, I believe they do a better job than state governments would.

 The shift towards national power during the Great Depression can be greatly linked to the need for aid in the failing economy. The states found themselves depending on the national government to assist in their survival and recovery. Reagan was dedicated to reducing the power national government had over the United States and to laying the fault on the government completely. I don’t think his attempts were positive for the United States and that he should have used his strategies to fix the economy.

I also believe the issue of education should be left up to the national government as well. Although there is a major flaw taking religion out of schools completely, there are also different types of schools children can attend (Catholic, Christian, etc). If our state and local governments were allowed the decision to control the education standards and systems, the young in the nation would suffer greatly from this. When I lived in Florala, Alabama my parents took us out of the school system and put us in home school. The reason was, this school (area) was among the lowest in the nation on educational standards. They only careers they encouraged their children to have were agriculture based careers or to be a housewife. 4-H, while beneficial to children, was pushed so heavily that any student attempting to broaden their horizons with aspirations to become a major profession is greatly discouraged and stopped. If we allow this control to be left up to the state and local standards, there will be states that allow the bare minimum to succeed (being able to work on engines and cook really well, but being unable to read or write at even a basic level) to those who have finished college level work by 6^th grade.

Chapter 2

The Articles of Confederation was an important, yet basic document that stated a partnership between the states. This document left most of the power to the states out of fear of another situation recently escaped from Great Britain. The states had sovereignty which meant that no form of national government had any authority to rule over the states. It did not take long for the Founders to see the Articles having a negative impact on the United States. The Constitution created a concrete system for the US to be run by: legislative structure and authority, executive branch, judiciary branch, and a checks and balance system to ensure proper usage and fair treatment. If the United States still operated under the Articles, I believe that with the states continuing to have the authority over their residents. Congress would have no authority to regulate commerce including taxation, there was no judicial branch or executive branch, and any amendments had to be met with complete agreement between all states. With these issues, debt would abound, economic growth would be at a minimum to non-existent, and no military power could have been incredibly detrimental to the nation.

Somehow I actually had no clue that the Vice President would be President of the Senate and have no vote, unless equally divided. I also did not know that the United States was not allowed to grant a title of nobility (which if you think about it is fairly obvious considering we have no system involving nobility titles) or ALSO that anyone in the Office of Profit or Trust can accept something without consent of Congress from a King, Prince, or foreign state. Being unable to accept a gift is an assumption I’ve always believed, however I did not know that Congress had the power to give consent for bribes, gifts, or whatever name they would like to call it.

Marbury vs Madison is incredibly important when dealing with the fairness of our legal system. It was incredibly important that we know this case and understand what it accomplished. Prior to this case, there was no way for any to overrule Congress when they attempt to pass a law that goes against the Constitution and could create a lifestyle for this nation that is against what the intentions and efforts were for. Judicial review, the authority granted through this case, gives the Supreme Court to ensure all fairness and protect the nation against anything that does not follow the Constitution.

I find it hard to discern whether our government is more the Federalist view or the Anti-Federalist. We have a President in office who does not deserve to be in office, who is throwing our country away, sending our troops to war, incorporating Muslim terms and practices into a healthcare bill that Congress didn’t even read when they passed it, and others in positions of power who support the worst president we could ever see simply because of his race. I guess this would mean that, although the support is based on the fact that our President is black, we are more of what the Anti-Federalists feared. We are run by a group, or groups, who care more about the power and the position than they do the well-being of their country. It has been obvious for quite some time that our President holds no concern over the well-being of our soldiers, our families, our health, or our freedoms. 

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