Interview

I decided to interview a close family friend, Gene.  He has been friends with my mom since college, where he was a History/Political Science major.  I knew he kept up with the issues going on in our country, and I figured he’d have a lot to say about some of the themes from Chapter 1.  I started off asking him the simple question “what is the main purpose of government?”  He answered that it is to fulfill God’s purpose for man and provide for the greater good of all. I definitely can’t disagree with that. He thinks our system of an indirect democracy works well, and does not believe a direct democracy would be any better. We went on to discuss the Constitution. I asked him how important is the Constitution and if he thought it should be strictly adhered to.  He said it was extremely important and yes, it should be. However, when asked if he agreed with all the amendments in the Constitution, his answer was a lot less brief. He doesn’t agree with how the separation of church and state is used and taken out of context. He says the Founding Fathers only had the freedom of Christian religions in mind. I always thought the separation of church and state was taken a little too far, but I hadn’t thought about this before. Back then, other mainstream religions were not prominent in America.  He believes there should be an amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  He also thinks an amendment should be added that “provides for the protection of life and puts abortion in extremely limited circumstances”.  

I then asked him who should have more power, the federal or state government. He thinks the federal government should have more power or we’re not really a united country.  He added that our strength comes from states being subordinate to the federal government. He thinks politicians definitely care more about getting reelected than making the tough decisions and compromise between parties is necessary.  He says he would vote for someone outside of his political party if they were for the issues he cares about.  When I asked him what makes a strong political leader, he said “the ability to build consensus and to deliver a concise message with specific goals”. To wrap up the interview, I asked him what current political issues were most important to him. He cares about the right to life, the right to bear arms, our economy, and education. I thought Gene had a lot of important things to say and I have more respect for him as a person after hearing his views.