Politicians And Social Order Essay, Research Paper
A social order. A person?s beliefs and values that allow
them to make the choices that to have the type of
government they want. My social order- one of an
African-American, 17-year-old, low middle-class female-
will differ widely from my mother?s, or Shemair?s, or even
your social order. For instance, I strongly value education.
So does my mother, Shemair, and I am sure you do, too.
My mother might value my education because it will help
her later on in life. Shemair might value my education
because it means that we will be able to move out after
graduation. You as my teacher, will value my education
because it proves that your education was good and your
life as a teacher is worthwhile. I value my education for the
sake of getting knowledge. Everyone might have the same
value and yet they will have different reasons for valuing it.
The same is true of our political values. People might want
a strong government because of the type of social order
that they hold.
The government maintains my personal and political social
order. The government allows me to vote for people who
have the same purposes as I do. Representatives who fall
into my political social order are the ones who will get my
vote as I get older. For instance – the issue of abortion. I
am strongly against abortion for any reason at any time.
When it comes time to vote for people to be a part of my
state government, I am going to choose someone who
believes that killing at any stage in life is immoral. This way,
through elections, I will have the ability to participate in the
government. I will have someone who protects individual
rights, thus maintaining my social order, and keep the
government holding the same ideas as me.
The principle of our democratic government will allow me to express my
individualism. My personal liberty will be established because the government
protects our interacting values that we hold. Another value that we have is
the idea of equality of opportunity. This fact is evident in the decision to have
affirmative action used in places such as colleges, universities, and jobs. I
believe 100% that affirmative action is good and justifiable. I will vote for
someone who pushes for affirmative action in the state of Florida. My social
order clearly shows that I want someone who favors post-secondary
education, especially for minorities. Also, the idea of majority rule will be
upheld in all of the elections that we hold. This way I can have free expression
in my personal life, as well as in the political arena. The reason why I will be
protected is that our government says that all elections are to be free and fair.
Structures of Democracy
Another important idea is having certain limits on our
government. There are certain structures that are
established to control all three branches of government.
The idea of federalism shows that the government?s power
is set up into two parts, the state and national government.
There is the concept of separation of power, which states
that each branch is given certain powers: the legislative
branch makes the laws, the executive branch applies the
laws, and the judiciary branch interprets the laws. Also, the
idea of checks and balances were set up to allow one
branch of the government the power to set up limitations on
the other branches. Another way that the government is
controlled is by means of limited government. The power of
our government right now is not absolute. This is a
protection that is set up in the Constitution to ensure that
the government does not get too powerful.
A few more important changes that need to be noted are
the amendments to the Constitution. These Amendments
have helped to extend civil liberties, These amendments
show what the power of judicial review has done for
everyone in the country, and not just for the people
involved. The first, and most important one (at least to me),
is Amendment # 13, which abolished slavery. If this
amendment was not established, I would probably be
someone?s mistress or cooking someone?s dinner rather
than learning about how and why slavery was abolished.
Next is Amendment # 19, which gave women the right to
vote. Even though black men were given the right to vote in
1870, if this amendment wasn?t passed in 1920, I still
wouldn?t have a voice in governmental affairs. The last
amendment that has helped not only me, but also all of your
classes is Amendment # 26, which gave 18-year-olds the
right to vote in 1971. Even though I won?t be able to vote
until next year, I know I will have the opportunity to have
real participation in our government.
Institutions of our government
Three different branches of government all do the same
thing. OR do they? By exploring each branch, we can how
the executive branch (the President) maintains domestic
tranquility, how the judicial branch (the Supreme Court)
extends civil liberties, and how the legislative branch
(Congress) protects individual rights.
The executive branch?s main job is listed in the
Constitution. Some of his jobs include: Head of State,
Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, he can
appoint Ambassadors, he can nominate judges to the
Supreme Court, and he can fill empty Senate seats. Some
decisions that Presidents make are inherent powers that the
Constitution gives them. Thomas Jefferson, who was
elected by the people, acquired land, even though that was
not a specific power listed in the Constitution. Abraham
Lincoln jailed supporters of the South during the Civil War
to preserve the Union. Franklin Roosevelt made many
economic changes during the Great Depression. All of
these Presidents had political participation, which is still
important to this day and age. The President has to do
things that are good for this country as well as the world. If
he doesn?t, he will be removed from office and someone
who can meet the people?s needs will take his place.
The Judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court.
Most judges are inclined to respect the President and
Congress? views and authority. However, they also look at
society and see how society will feel about a case or
decision that they will make. This way, there is indirect
participation, but our social order as a nation is still very
important.
The legislative branch is made up of Congress. Congress
has the job of impeachment and deciding if laws are going
to go into effect. When the members of Congress are told
about an upcoming impeachment trial, they will get their
PAC groups to find out how the people in their states feel.
Then most will vote based on that. Also, if a law is
presented to Congress about an issue that the nation wants
or generally agrees on, then Congress will probably vote
for the bill to become a law. The reason why is because
their social order causes them to worry about being
re-elected.
We can look at everything in our government that is
effected by us, and realized that our social order affects the
political participation that we are involved in. There is
maintenance and protection of our social order because we
have our institutions set up to make sure we have what we
want in our democratic society. Everyone?s social order is
different, but that?s what makes the United States so
unique!
33f