1. Do politics still help people relate to each other, like Aristotle said? Or does it do just the opposite? 2. Are Americans unappreciative of democracy?
3. Should compromise between parties be looked down upon?
4. Do most politicians really care about the issues or it all about self-interest?
5. What was the Tinanmen Square massacre?
6. Is our skepticism of immigrants from Arab and Muslim countries justified?
7. Why did the Bush administration want to improve relations with Mexico?
8. Should we have harsher penalties on those who enter the country illegally?
9. Why was Canada involved in the agreement with the INS?
10. Does diversity benefit us?
11. Why do people born poor tend to stay poor? Can't anyone be successful if they work hard?
12. Does affirmative action lead to reverse discrimination?
13. Is one political culture realistic for the United States?
14. Where do we draw the line on the government's power?
15. Did the census used to be taken in person?
16. Does the census have much effectiveness?
17.Daniel Webster and Thomas Jefferson said that only educated citizens would be able to understand public issues and elect the right leaders. Should an education be required to vote?
18. If the founders wanted us to be united by the same religion, then why is talk of religion such taboo nowadays?
19. Why are other languages seen as such a threat to the English language?
20. What is the main purpose of government?
Your first questioned interested me, because I think it can go either way. For politicians in different parties, all they do is trash talk each other, and try their best to make them look bad. Politicians in the same party, will also try to make their competition seem bad. This leads back to the question, do politicians care mostly about getting re-elected? Also, politicians in the same party, will relate to each other, and agree on lots of issues which can bring them together.
ReplyDeleteYour third question also interested me. I think compromise is a huge theme of government. As we went through chapter one, I realized how many compromises were made to form our country how it is today. I do agree that compromise is a good thing, but i also believe to have a strong leader, they need to be able to make concrete decisions without worrying about what the whole country thinks of him/her, because no matter what the whole country will not like and agree with you, so you need to be confident.
I also thought that the third question was interesting. Compromise is normally a good thing, and it was definitely beneficial in the creation of the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, sometimes the best answer does not lie in the middle between two opposite ideas. For example: http://xkcd.com/690/
ReplyDeleteSo while compromise is often helpful in settling conflicts, sometimes the more reasonable side must assert itself.
I also like your question #18. Religion has no place in politics. I don't think that the Founders wanted one religion (hence the guarantee of freedom of religion in the first amendment). I think that religion is treated as such a sensitive topic nowadays because people really aren't sure how to treat it. People know what they believe and they think they are right, so they want to be able to share their beliefs. However, I agree that it is impossible in our society to claim that one has the "right" religious beliefs. This, I think, is why religion is such a taboo subject. Any time someone mentions it, another person can complain that they are imposing their beliefs.
For question #17, I think that people should know what is going on in our country and I think that people should know a little about politics to vote. People don't have to go through years of school just to know what's currently going on in our nation. So I believe that people shouldn't have to be educated as long as they know about politics and current events. But if a person doesn't know anything about politics or current events, then that person should be educated in order to vote. Therefore, I believe that a person should be educated no matter how they acquired their valid information.
ReplyDeleteFor question #19, I believe that other languages are seen as a threat to the English language because they take away the American national identity that the Founders had established, and the national identity that is trying to be maintained today. I also believe believe that fear is another reason why other languages are seen as a threat to the English language. Any time there was an a attack on the US, American citizens would fear the people who originated from that nation. The American people would become more paranoid when they heard the people speak in their native tongue. For example, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans were place in interment camps because the American government and people believed they were plotting an attack from the inside. Most Americans didn't know Japanese so that made Americans even more paranoid and frightened.
It's not bad that Americans want to create a national identity but foreign languages can actually benefit America. It would be easier to communicate with other nations and with its own people, since America is considered a diverse nation by many.
Eli- I agree with you that compromises may not always be the solution. It sometimes seems like the middle ground won't satisfy anyone.
ReplyDeleteI do however think religion should have a place in politics. I feel like the root of many political issues always comes back to religion. I think the founding fathers did intend for us to freedom of religion so people would not be persecuted for their beliefs. But, the founding fathers were Christian and I do not think they would have wanted God so absent from government.
Ben- I agree people should not vote if they don't understand what they're voting for. I like your comparison to the Japanese internment during World War 2.