America is a diverse society, with individuals of hundreds of different backgrounds living and working together in an attempt to live happy, fulfilling lives. While the democratic party is in favor of preserving the rights of those individuals, there is still much debate over how religion is treated in this country.
The Democratic Party and Religion
April 20th, 2010American Representative Democracy
April 20th, 2010We teach our school children that America is built as a democratic government, ruled by the people, for the people. Everyone has a say in how decisions are made and how laws are enforced. All adult Americans have the right to vote, and the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government are controlled by the separation of powers which utilizes checks and balances. No one branch of government has the authority to take control over the other two. Essentially, we stretch the truth.
How Liberal is an American Liberal?
April 20th, 2010The constant debate between liberals and conservatives in American society has reached an all-new level of toxicity. It seems that the country is beginning to spilt into two pieces, with harsh contenders on either side. Both sides are rigid and unmoving on their feelings about national issues such as: abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty, the economy, education, the environment, gun control, healthcare, immigration, religion, marriage, taxes, and war, amongst others. While controversy and competition is healthy in establishing laws for a nation as diverse as ours, why do some people feel that all the laws should tilt in one direction? Although some liberal view points do make a lot of sense, why is it that there is little to no understanding on either side of these debates for the point one party is trying to make?
Liberalism and the Greater Good
April 20th, 2010Liberalism is the philosophical belief in the goodness of mankind and the inviolability of universal civil rights under a limited central government. Unlike the belief system of the left wing liberals, liberalism seeks to narrow the focus away from rigid viewpoints and instead focus on bettering society as whole by finding common ground. Liberalism seeks to establish a government beneficial to the common welfare with fair laws and equal opportunities. Liberals believe in a government regulated economic system that protects citizens from big businesses which only seek to devour the little guys through monopolies and corporate buy-outs. Conversely, liberalism supports the need for a free market without government interference or control. Everyone is free to participate in an unregulated marketplace. If the government steps in to limit the successes of big businesses, then our country will become more socialist than capitalist, and individual responsibility will be lost. A free market allows for unlimited public access to wealth and products, as well as individual innovation.
Civil Liberties versus National Defense
April 20th, 2010As a society, we expect our civil liberties to be protected by the laws of our national government. We also expect to be safe when we leave our homes and go about the business of our daily lives, but lately it has been an increasingly difficult chore for our government to perform its duties at the optimum level. Increased terrorist threats and attacks on civilian territory have put pressure on the government to step up its game in the protection of its citizens. Unfortunately, roadblocks put in place by civil libertarians prevent our government from doing so. As a direct result, we as a society need to decide what is more important; we can put more power into the hands of the national government in an effort to protect ourselves from domestic threats, or we can restrict the power of the national government in the interest of preserving civil liberties, but then hold ourselves responsible every time a plane is high-jacked or a subway is blown to pieces. Unfortunately, most people just want the government to protect us without infringing on our civil liberties and without having to take that kind of responsibility upon themselves. Well, it just doesn’t work that way.