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Politics In America
Politics In America
Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission court ruling was a huge verdict passed by the Supreme Court. It declared that the financial support of autonomous political broadcasts in an aspirant’s election cannot be controlled due to the first amendment. This ruling was made in favor of the Citizens United. This resulted from a disagreement over if the corporation Citizens United could broadcast a film that was critical to Hillary Clinton and contradicted bipartisan campaign reform act, commonly known as the McCain- Feingold act. This tends to tear up the material of our democracy that is already weak by permitting corporations to totally dictate our already tainted electoral process. The ruling signifies a pointed doctrinal alter and will have key practical and political repercussions. It has caused uproar from various individuals. Feingold in testifying against the ruling maintained that the decision was a tragic error. He explained that the decision of the court was unjustified and extreme noting that the impacts might not be noted today but will be clear in coming elections. Pat Leahy in a video supported this position. On his part he lamented that the court’s opinion is likely to alter the path of our democracy and threaten the public’s confidence on courts impartiality. Keith commented on this issue. He said that this is a Supreme Court sanction assassination of what little democracy is left. Rachel Maddow commented that ordinary people making election donation wouldn’t have to do so since it’s now pointless. President Obama termed this as giving rights to the Wall Street at the expense of the Main Street. On a democracy now video a watchdog group filed a case against justice Scalia and Thomas. It wants them to be investigated if they should have excluded themselves from the proceedings due to conflict of interest. This was on grounds to the fact that these two justices attended workshops supported by the second largest corporation in the United States. It’s proposed that the verdict be reversed or an amendment be made.
Pluralism stress that power is not a material thing that persons have or do not have, but instead comes from various source ( Connolly 13). It upholds that citizens are powerful given that they manage various resources. Robert Dahl clarify that power is a pragmatic relationship, such as A’s capacity of acting in a way that run the reaction of B. Pluralist approaches the issue of power by asserting that there is nothing related to categorical power that any society assume. According to the theory the inquiry is not concerning who controls a society but if any group does. On the other hand, elitism is a conviction that some individuals form an elite group composed of people with intelligence, prosperity, specialized training or know-how or other characteristic attributes (Hollinger 16). Their opinions on a particular issue are given more consideration and weigh more in comparison to others. Their amazing abilities, skills or knowledge make them fit to govern (16). The history of the world favors pluralism as its greatly linked to democracy, by scrutinizing the system and the power balances forging an agreement of the general interest that dictate the government policies. However, elitism perspective states that a select group of the rich and powerful individuals or groups dictates policies that favor their own interest. According to Wassermann United States of America combines the two. Actually, American politics is the combination of these two. On my own view I think that the combination of these two would be most appropriate. This is due to the fact that although the theory of pluralism has been termed as simplistic and of high demand level of resources, policy is a packed arena and hence no grouping or political section is powerful sufficiently to control the others.
Reports have indicated that Security Social Fund is set to go broke by the year 2041. This has left many young Americans wondering why they should continue to pay for something that will not exist in the future. Discussions have it that if the government kept records the way businesses do, the debt of the nation would not amount to $5 trillion but to $17 trillion. This is amount projected to be more than two times the country’s gross domestic product. However, this position has been criticized by many with some maintaining that it is pure fabrication by republicans. On signing for social security benefits Kathleen Casey made a single step for herself but a leap for the baby boom age group. This year the first of the baby boomers attained the age of 65 and became entitled to Medicare. In the year 2012, those who never took early retirement benefits will attain 66 and be eligible for their complete share meaning that millions of baby boomers start to take it. Medicare is already paying more than it intakes .Excepting actions by the congress, social security will follow suit in 2017. In 2019, funds for Medicare will run out and thereafter in 2041 social security fund will go broke. Tax cuts by congress and President Bush in 2001 and 2003 left the fund in a position that cannot sustain pledges to prospect retirees. Furthermore, Congress did add $ 768 billion in a period of ten years to Medicare in 2003 through formation of prescription drug advantage. After two years the legislators nicked Medicaid predicted price by $5 billion more over the period of five years. Bush had tried to overhaul the fund by creating a private investment but was opposed and blocked by democrats. President Obama is also proposing cuts on Medicare a scenario likened to that of bush bid to privatize the social security fund.
Development of policies is in response to an alleged problem. Firstly is the problem identification then the policy objectives follow. So that a policy can succeed it needs establishment of goals and options (Heymann 24) .In the third step of is policy execution of the options selected. Policies may fail due to improper implementation. The final stage of this process is the implementation and the maintenance of this policy. When the problem is indentified potential policy solutions are formulated. Politicians, interest groups and the public participate in discussions and debates. Various solutions to the problem are compared and criticized. If an agreement to one of the alternatives exists it is adopted, by the passage of legislation. Once this policy is enacted and becomes a law it has to be implemented (Sabatier 100). A movie named, The Fog of War, a military phrase from war uncertainties has good foreign policy lessons. The documentary is based on Robert S. McNamara life a former secretary of defense. From it we learn that you should sympathize with your rival that rationality will not help us and there exists something past one self. He explains that we should be ready to re-examine our reasoning, for you to do good you must engage in evil, never give up and finally you cannot change human personality. During the era of bush the above guidelines given by McNamara completely disregarded. The public opinion was not considered in policy making during Bush’s era. Obama should be advised to follow the policy process unlike bush did. Rethink Afghanistan is a documentary that features the period of 2009 focusing on the war in Afghanistan. It discussed vital issues such as the escalation of military, effects to Pakistan and the surrounding area. This movie led to the formation of a new movement based out of the increasing need for non-military solutions the regions problems. This movie went hand in hand with a variety of campaigns aimed at advocating for alternative US policies on this region.
References
Connolly William. Pluralism. Durham: Duke University Publishers, 2005. Print
Hollinger Robert. The dark side of liberalism: elitism vs. democracy. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. Print.
Sabatier Paul. Theories of the policy process. Pennsylvania: West view publishers, 2007. Print.
Heymann Philip. Living the policy process. London: Oxford University Publishers, 2008. Print.
The Crusades-Salvation or Exploitation
The Crusades: Salvation or Exploitation?
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The Crusades: Salvation or Exploitation?
The crusades trace their origin to the eleventh century. This is when Europe’s many states were at constant loggerheads over boundaries and territories (Bréhier, 1908). The head of Christendom, on the other hand, embroiled himself in arguments over investitures. At the time, the Pope had managed to keep the Church united. Faced with the threat of the Mohammedan tribes and the Byzantine Empire, the Church came under pressure to suppress the Muslim persecution of Christians in the East (“Metropolitan Museum,” 2013). According to “The Ccrusades (1095-1291)” (2013), most historians attribute the beginning of the Ccrusades to a sermon preached by Pope Urban II in November 1095. Ten centuries later, the question that lingers in our minds is,” “Were the Crusades a quest for Salvation or was there a secular motive?”
Despite many scholars having investigated and thoroughly scrutinized the Ccrusades, The Crusades they were still subjected to a lot of controversy (Madden, 2007). Such controversy emanates from the participants who took part in the Ccrusades to the actual events of the that took place at the Ccrusades. The Christian faithful, at the time, considered these waves of military campaigns divinely sanctioned. The eleventh century witnessed feudal primogeniture, a series of poor harvests, and an increase in the population. This led to the widespread unemployment of young well-trained warriors (Madden, 2007). According to what Madden (2007) terms as “the Myth of the Greedy Younger Son”, this condition of unemployment condition led to the Pope at the time, Pope Urban II, encouraging the youth to annex territories for themselves in the East. In this light, historians conclude that Pope Urban II called for the Ccrusades to exploit the peasants in the European countries.
However, Madden (2007) writes off such a myth terming it a nineteenth century colonial proposition. Madden (2007) goes on to state that most of the warriors who took part in the Ccrusades were wealthy pious and privileged first sons of Europe. Crusades were quite expensive, and warriors who wished to take part in them had to part with a lot of wealth (“The First Crusade,” 2013). Madden (2007) concludes that the Ccrusades were for religious purposes. The Ccrusaders believed that they would go to heaven only by taking being part in of the Ccrusades (Bréhier, 1908). Both the Christians and Muslims used religion to justify their cause. Historians, who supported the need for the Ccrusades, used self-justification and righteousness as their focal points of argument (“Jewish History,” 2013).
According to Laiou and Mottahedeh (2001), some historians claim that the Ccrusades were an attack on a peaceful sophisticated Muslim world. This view is now very common among many works, including popular movies and presentations. In 1995, in a conference held to commemorate the Ffirst Ccrusade summons, the organizers called upon the Pope to denounce the killing of pagans and war that took part during the Ccrusades. It was the opinion of the historians at the conference that the Ccrusades took place because of the religious fanaticism and greed of the Europeans in the eleventh century (Laiou & Mottahedeh, 2001). The Muslims were victims of Europeans’ willingness to expand into Asia and to conquer territories in the East. The historians further go to discredit the protectionist claim that the Ccrusades were a retaliation by Christians against Muslim jihad warriors who had persecuted the Christians in Turkey and other Asian territories prior to the Ccrusades (Madden, 2007).
In conclusion Therefore, it is safe to conclude that the Ccrusades were a blend of both exploitation and salvation. According to some accounts, Tthe Pope got the peasants in Europe, according to some accounts, to take part in the Ccrusades with the aim of conquering new territory (Madden, 2007). On the other hand, Christians believed that the Ccrusades were a quest to place the Holy Land under their control, after widespread jihads by the Muslims placed most regions in the East under the control of Muslims (Bréhier, 1908).
References
Bréhier, L. (1908). Crusades. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York, NY: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04543c.htm
Jewish History. (2013). The first crusade. Retrieved from http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-first-crusade/
Laiou, E. A., & Mottahedeh, R. P. (2001). The Ccrusades from the perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim world. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection.
Madden, T. F. (2007). Crusades and historians. First Times, 20(2), 24-25.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. (2013). The crusades (1095–1291) | thematic essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of art history | the metropolitan museum of art. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/crus/hd_crus.htm
Politics And The Internet
Politics And The Internet
Internet has an impact on the society in general and in politics of the world. Interactions between the internet and politics are worldwide, and the former is affecting the latter regardless of their country. In Germany, it was the rising Pirate Party popularity while in Arab world Facebook and Twitter led to the fall of lifetime presidencies. Viral campaigns across the United States continue to determine the outcome of elections in the country, and the world at large is investing in the potential that e-government presents. That is e-government increases efficiency improves effectiveness and is faster. It is for such facts that Internet continues to shape the politics of the world regardless of the geographical location. The internet is a powerful tool in the politics of the world. Politicians and political analysts are increasingly acknowledging that the internet will define the future of politics.
February 2003 would be the month that political campaigns would receive a key tectonic shift. Howard Dean was the initiator of a program dubbed Meetup that allowed supporters of a given candidate to organize themselves. Arizona thereafter in the same year would become the first state to use online voter registration. Though Arizona was the first state, it would not be the last and numerous states followed the cue and implemented similar programs. Democratic Party online registration in 2004 was another milestone that would lead to changes in ways that political parties acquired funding. Internet is not only defining the ways that politicians do campaigns elections bodies are using it to register voters. In future analysts indicate that the internet will be a basic tool in any nation for the progress of democracy.
The future of politics will change. Internet will be a key player to these changes. Presidential elections in United States are approaching, and the internet will play a critical role in shaping this process and outcomes. It is a period that will have innovations that will turn heads worldwide. Recently, Scott Brown election in Massachusetts introduced newer technology. It is the use of an app running on Smartphone called Walking Edge that GOP candidates used. It would assist canvassers of Brown live location of supporters and undecided voters. This would give Brown an advantage over his competitors leading to his victory. This means that voter registration political funding and campaigns are the only way that the internet is altering politics. It is also helping political and campaign strategies real time information that assist them to make appropriate decisions. This is the future of internet effect on politics.
Democracies continue to face a myriad of challenges. Scholars believe that the internet will provide the needed solution. Recently, Twitter and Facebook arguably provided Arab world with solutions to their recurring democratic problem. Its future will provide a solution to problems that according to analysts are the shortcomings of democracies. This includes improving participation in political processes by societies. It will also provide an avenue that will hold healthy and intellectual discussions on issues that affect communities. Such advances will improve the interaction of communities not only within but also without the society. Internet is shaping politics in the world and improving interactions among societies. It is a tool that will become basic for the advancement of world politics and democracy. Internet has the potential of providing the world with solutions to democratic issues.