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!

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