Interest_Groups

Social Movements Passage

A social movement is different from an interest group mainly by its level of organization, although most social movements have some kind of organization structure; it is usually not as formalized as an interest group. This has various advantages and disadvantages. Lack of formal organization gives social movement’s greater flexibility than interest groups; however they often lack the resources of organized interests. At the same time interest groups might have closer ties to government but often lacks the numerical support that large social movements often have. Social movements are not necessarily good while interest groups are bad. Social movements can range from anything from the civil rights movement to the rise of fascism in Europe in the 1930s. Many social movements use the tactics of interest groups, like bus boycotts for example, but often social movements can use violence as well

What this passage means to me

A social movement is not highly organized in the way that interest groups are.  The lack of organization gives social movements more freedom than interest groups, but at the same time social movements lack resources. On the other hand interest groups have close relationships to government but do not have large numbers. Social movements are not necessarily good because they are the majority who lack direction and resources while interest groups are bad because they have resources but do not use the resources for enough good.

Why I chose this passage

I chose this passage because it explains the power struggle going on in society historically, and presently. This passage is a key piece to understanding the similarities, and differences in the components between interest groups, and social movements. 

Judiciary: Assignment

Assignment Due 5/9: Choose one of the Supreme Court case summaries and select a passage, write out the passage, explain how the legal decision was made, and then explain why you chose it and why you believe this case is important.

Case:   Brown v. Board of Education

Black children were denied admission to public schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to the races. The white and black schools approached equality in terms of buildings, curricula, qualifications, and teacher salaries. This case was decided together with Briggs v. Elliott, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, and Gebhart v. Belton. (A separate but related case -- Bolling v. Sharpe -- presented the same issue in the context of the District of Columbia, which is not subject to the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment because the District is not a state.)

Passage: Judiciary

However, past decisions of judges are carried over into present cases, so before a case is decided, lawyers and judges consult past court decisions, this is known as "legal precedent," or stare decisis, since judges cannot contradict previous decisions (except in rare circumstances) the authority of past decisions has a strong hold on legal outcomes in the present. Furthermore, another feature of the American legal system are the high frequency of "plea bargains." Again, since common law allows for more interpretation, court cases can be very time consuming. To compensate for this, many cases are "plead out," meaning that the defendant will plead guilty to a lesser offense without a trial, in order to speed up the process of coming to a legal decision. Almost 80% of legal decisions in the U.S. are the result of plea bargains.

Decision making:

The decision of the case of Brown v. Board of education was decided with legal precedence from other similar cases such as; Briggs v. Elliott, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, and Gebhart v. Belton.

Significance of the case:

I chose this case because it appears to be a civil rights issue. Historically, the court system has no interest in the treatment of people; instead it was designed to maintain the economic interest of the people. The cases such as the Brown v. Board case opened changed the way law was practiced in the United States, by giving law makers and practitioners a conscious on the civil rights of the people whom make up the country.

Tactics of the Reagan administration

Tactics of the Reagan administration

Passage:

The Reagan administration was defined by the phrase "government is the problem" and tried to remove all government regulation of businesses. Despite this, the budget deficit of the federal government continued to grow through the decade, along with an increasing trade deficit also growing rapidly since the 1970s, and despite Reagan' promises to tackle the "twin deficits." 

 

The budget deficit grew largely because of a combination of increased military spending and significant tax cuts given to the highest income brackets in the country. Reagan was later forced to reverse many of these tax cuts and ended up raising taxes several times.  Much of the increased military spending was used to finance covert wars in Latin America and the Middle East, but also to "outspend" the Russians on defense, a process that some commentators believe helped pushed the Soviet Union into its final downward spiral into dissolution.

 

Meaning of the Passage:

The government was moving towards an international competitive direction. Meanwhile the people were still in a domesticated state of mind. There were certain moves that needed to be made to ensure the future for the United States. Reagan had to make sure the people were satisfied, but also needed satisfy the needs of the country as a whole. This required a strong military presence, strong political representation, and a method to sustain the economy at the same time.

 

Why I chose the passage:

I chose the passage because there is always a misunderstanding as to why wars take place, and why power seems to be one sided. I was able to see it in a neutral perspective, and wanted to share my view on the matter.

 

 

Congress _Relfection_Paper

American Political System

Congress

Reflection assignment

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Choose a section from either of the Washington Post articles in this blog. Write out the passage. Explain the meaning of the passage and why you chose it. You do not have to read the articles I listed in the syllabus.

 It was stated that all laws were originated in the house, and then must be referred to the state finance committee, and all other laws must be reviewed by the Senate or congress before it can be approved. I chose to write about the ways, and means committee that are responsible for creating all laws regarding taxation. This passage has stood out to me more than the others because I learned how international trade tariffs policies actually function.

I was enlightened to know that the President has the most control over the way trade tariffs are created. The Senate and the House might become partisan, in the matter of trade tariffs, and become influenced by lobbyists. The change occurred in the 1930’s due to senators raising the tariffs on foreign imports, thus raising the price of consumer goods. The President is not influenced by any entity so his motivations for governing tariffs would benefit the country as a whole. The president can veto bills that Congress wants to pass, and Congress can override the President’s signature on matters if they have a 2/3 vote. This ideology gives an equilibrium of power, and is essential for ensuring that one power does not become stronger than the other.

Marshall_Civil_Liberties

The Passage that I chose 

Marshall argues the demand for social rights really begins with the idea of public education. If civil rights literally means only that the government cannot interfere with you, then on that basis alone there is no clear right to provide education for all the people. Same with political rights and the right to vote. It is of course a commonly accepted value that everyone is entitled to go to school, at least primary school, but this is only because we accept the idea of education as a kind of social right that everyone needs. In today's politics, things like healthcare would be considered a social right. This however makes it clear, that not everyone agrees on the idea of social rights. When it comes to healthcare most other countries have accepted it as a social right, this is still something debated in the U.S. With education there is a continuing effort to privatize education and de-fund and eventually shut down many public schools.

My Perception of the passage

Marshall discusses the idea of social rights, the dynamics which propel its ideologies. In the latter passage he mentions his perspective of social rights, and how it begins with public education. Civil rights protects people from government infringement which he states there is no right for the government to educate the public. In order for a strong political society to exist, its members must be educated, but he goes to state that social standard began to accept the basis of at least a primary education. 

Why I chose this Passage

I chose this passage because in the American society social rights are a big piece of history, and people still are trying to identify where they fit in it. I think that there is a confusion of the term right, what is right, and what one may think is right. There are two ways to think of the term. We can define the term as the truth, a fact, and something that is unchangeable. Secondly we can view it in a moral stand point, which will always be pointed.

Conclusion

Indeed education is the primary factor in establishing social rights. If a person perceives their realities based upon what they know, then they will only come to accept life as far as their common knowledge. Civil rights then will be a product of what the communities produce daily. What political force would come from educated societies vs. uneducated societies? There will ultimately be sets of classes based on what each class is capable of; hence a huge gap will be placed upon the division.

Reflection_Paper_Fredrick_Douglas

Fredrick Douglas escaped slavery at age 20 but was initially sold as a carpenter at age 7. In his late teens Douglas ran away to pursue his happiness. This entailed getting married, learning how to read, and write, by visiting local libraries. Soon after he was able to communicate effectively Fredrick Douglas started to speak about his experience as a former slave, and his message reached many people. 

One message in particular was the Lecture on the anti slavery movement in 1855. His address was geared towards the Rochester Ladies Anti Slavery movement. This was an era were many participated irn moral reform societies, and when woman were learning political, and organizing skills. 

Anti Slavery movements operated on different branches and Fredrick Douglas aims to iterate his views based upon the dynamics of the compartments? There were four branches; Garrisonians on the American, and Foreign anti-slavery society, the Anti-Garrisonians, on the American, and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, The Free Soil Party, and the Liberty Party. 

The Garrisonian Anti-Slavery Society’s view was, ‘no union with slaveholders’.  Douglas argues that the idea dissolves the union, and leaves slaves and owners to fight their own battles.  He stresses that the above idea is similar to abandoning the slaves, and leaving them to free themselves.

The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery movement, number two on the least appear to be operating on the same chapter of the Garrisonian party. One strategy that was used to push their agenda was the revival of Anti-Slavery in the Church. Speech was a potent weapon according to Douglas, and he questioned the Unions strategy to keep speech as a minimum.

In third we have the Free soil party alias (Free Democratic-Free Republican Party). The main goal of this party was to limit, and denationalize slavery. Their objectives were the same as the Garrisonian, and American and Foreign Anti-Slavery movement.

Last but, not least was the Liberty party, the smallest but most influential of the 3 other movements. The Liberty party was formed by a small body of citizens (mainly in N.Y). According to his observations, they were the only group that actually pushed to abolish slavery, and urged the government to utilize its input on the matter.

Fredrick Douglas believed that slavery was created on inferior intelligence, and that in time will die out totally. He stated that he was not a superstitious individual, but strongly suggested that people pay attention to the powers that be. 

Political_Identity_Political_Culture

I chose a quote by Chesterton. ''In truth it is inequality that is the illusion. The extreme disproportion between men, that we seem to see in life, is  thing of changing lights, and lengthening shadows. A twilight full of fancies, and distortions... It is the experience of men that returns to the equality of men; it is when men have seen and suffered much and come at the end of their elaborate experiments that they see men under an equal light of death, and daily laughter and non the less mysterious for being many''.



I believe that Chesterton is referring to the broad view of nationalism in terms of political culture, and political identity. He is saying that initially men are trying to find their true standing in political society, all while they might false claim a view, throughout the duration of  their experiments. When it is all said, and done, men will come to realize that we are equal in death, and therefore should spend there days in laughter, and light. I chose this quote because it supports a strong individualistic mentality, but also caters to collective thinking political groups. This quote is an asset to the class because all political systems hold a bias of some form, and this quote sheds light on that fact.



This passage is about the many elements that influenced American political culture stemming from historical events. Most significantly the question what is America? Is elaborated as a diverse America, ruled by an ancient minority class that considers itself superior, but must find a way to govern the diverse majority. The passage focuses on the essays of respected, and most influential thinkers of the 18th century, and their concern with what America might become in the future.