Monday, January 7, 2013
For Class on 1/9: American Political Culture
This course will focus primarily on the American political system and how it affects us as citizens (and hopefully how we can affect it as well). Part of our reading this week discussed the incredibly low level of political knowledge held by most Americans. That is something we will try to change this quarter. Regardless of how much you know about our government or how much you trust it, it impacts you every day in many ways. As illustrated in Box 1.1 (pg. 7) the government plays a large role in your life. For this first blog I would like you to discuss any or all of these issues. Two questions that you might want to answer:
1. Although the government impacts us each and every day, most Americans don't know much about it or don't care. Why do you think that is the case?
2. How do you feel knowing that the government plays such a huge role in your life? Safe? Secure? Nervous? Vulnerable?
Remember: Your answers should be approximately one long or two short paragraphs and no more (around 150 words). No research is necessary but think carefully about what you want to write and respond to the ideas presented on the blog, not the people. Happy blogging!
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I believe most Americans do not know much or don't care about the government because they feel as though it does not affect them greatly. For instance many people do not vote or actively engage themselves in elections because they do not think their vote will "make a difference". The government does in fact affect every single person who considers themselves a US citizen. I personally see two sides to the immense role the government plays in my life. On one hand I feel safe and secure because the government is so heavily involved in my day to day life that not much could go wrong/I do not fear for my life. On the other hand, I'm not sure I like a group of people monitoring how I live my life and deciding what is best for me. I never thought about just how much the government controls until the breakdown on page 7 of our text. I do not know how I would even begin to take control back over my life since they have a firm grasp on everything.
ReplyDeleteMaggie
Personally, I think that most Americans don't know or care about the government. After taking the quiz in class and hearing the facts of how awful Americans, and even people who hold a government position, did on that quiz proves it. On page ten of our reading, it stated that "In 2000, 56 percent of Americans said that the government officials don't care what people think". Today, I feel like more and more people think that the government doesn't care about them so they stop caring about the government. Knowing that the government plays a big role in my life, it makes me nervous. I feel like the government hides many things from us and doesn’t fully protect us. It is nice that we have the government watching over us, but I don’t fully believe that all their decisions are right for us.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly believe that most Americans don't know much about government for various reasons, with some being more responsible than others. One of the primary reasons is that in order to live our daily lives, we don't necessarily need to understand the nature of government. The government influences our actions and life in many ways, but most are not directly apparent unless you actually think about the different interactions the government engages in that affect you.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason Americans know so little about government is because politicians thrive when the populace is uninformed. When their leashes are loosened they have free reign to pursue their own interests, which often don't align with the interests of their constituents. Lobbyists, money, political capital, and the lust for power weigh heavily in the typical politician's mind. When the people have blinders on anything can fly under the radar. For example, a provision in last year's NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act)enabled the government to arrest and detain American citizens that were labeled as terrorists without any sort of charge or trial by jury. This is clearly an unconstitutional bill, yet most people don't know about it, because Obama and vast majority of Congress both petitioned for it. It was not in their interests to tell the people about it, because most would naturally have an objection to it. This is why it's important to know about government, and to have transparency over the process. I am very skeptical of centralized government authority, because history has shown that large governments don't mix very well with an uneducated populace. I am nervous because the government has so much influence in my life. When one is dependent on such an institution, how can that person expect to challenge it in a serious manner?
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be...”
"Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear."
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
-Thomas Jefferson
I believe that most Americans don’t know much about politics, because it is not necessary to know much about politics to live your daily life. For most Americans it is not relevant to know why a law or amendment was written. It is there and the background information is not important.
ReplyDeleteI find the second point very interesting, since I am from the Netherlands, a country where the government plays a bigger role in your life. In my opinion, the government doesn’t play a huge role in an American life. I feel very safe knowing that the government “controls” your life. Even though the government has a big influence, you can almost do whatever you like. When I visited downtown Chicago for the first time I was astonished by the amount of beggars. If I compare downtown Chicago and downtown Amsterdam with each other you will maybe find a handful of beggars in Amsterdam, but in Chicago you will find a beggar on every corner of the street. This has all to do with differences between the tax-systems. In the Netherlands it is almost impossible to live on the streets, because the government takes care of you. I like it that the government “controls” your life, because it gives you the safe feeling that almost nothing can go wrong. So in my opinion, the American government can play a bigger role in an American life.
Jan-Willem Feilzer
I believe many people do not know about how the political system works because they are uninterested in the subject. To be honest, I do not know much about the government, due to the fact that it is a boring subject to me. I know that sounds ignorant, but it is the truth. The subject of the government has never intrigued me, I have always seen it as dry. The government classes I took in high school put me to sleep, and the books were even worse. Another reason I feel others may not know much about the government is the complexity of it. Some things are quite hard to understand and can be confusing. I know when I did try to read my government book in high school, I had a hard time understanding what the book was explaining. There are just so many different people that make up the government. No one person’s job is the same as the others.
ReplyDelete-Caitlin Flanagan
Most Americans seem to not care about the government even if they know that what the government decides to do, whether if it is about health care or education, they know that government holds power. Perhaps Americans believe that they cannot take political action because they are unaware of how they can help improve the government. Some care, some don’t, but the important thing to do is educate others about what is going on, what is going wrong and what needs to change in our political system.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that government plays a huge role in my life is at times frightening. I am a student, a daughter, a woman…a human. All of the issues that the government has been discussing impact me. I may possibly have more loan debt because of what the government decides to do or I may not have access to health care. What the government chooses is what can limit my own actions as a human being living in the United States and that makes me a vulnerable person.
Juanita
The decisions made at the state, federal, and local level by appointed officials make a difference to each individual. Governmental policies shape our lifestyles, specifically, what jobs we are eligible for, the homes we live in, what kind of programs we can partake in, and how much we pay in taxes. I see governmental influence also in our leisure activities, like the designing of local parks, involvement in sporting organizations, and assorted artistic and cultural center. The government does not necessarily directly partake in these entities or systems, but can incentivize and de-incentivize certain programs. Certain small businesses and income levels receive tax breaks for “good” practices. Also, politicians see the issues of their constituency and work with organizations to keep their people safe. Though the essence of politics is the distribution of limited resources, each decision made in government preserves the safety of a certain party.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that issues arise in politics when business and the almighty dollar hold too much precedent. When economic interests prevail, many times, underprivileged and marginalized groups are taken advantage of. Since much of the population of our country is undereducated on governmental proceedings, they are often taken for a ride, and institutions are set in place that simply should not be. I honestly believe that the political ineptitude in the Unites States is due to the lack of realistic transparency in Washington. Even when keeping up with MSNBC, Fox News, CNN, or any other political mediums, much discussion gets lost. In such a blatant TV culture, the public either sees utter ridiculousness like President Obama supposedly eating dog, or over-blown rhetoric about national “destruction.” Politics need to be more accessible to a greater audience, in a manner that is serious and thought-provoking.
-Ben Hiromura
I think most Americans don't know anything about politics because it doesn't influence their everyday life. They won't go out of their way to learn about the system and how it works, because they think that anything they need to know about will be in the media. This country is impacted by media everyday and that is how people learn and find things out nowadays. Even during the presidential elections each party has commercials bashing the other candidate and that is how we learn who is running for what and what they stand for.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that the government plays such a huge roll in my life tends to make me a little nervous and insecure at times. The reason being is that we live in Illinois and the first time in United States history there are two governors from the same state who are in jail at the same time for corruption. We also live in the Windy City and for those who think it is because of the weather it is actually not. The name comes from the crooked politicians and to this day everywhere throughout the United States, politicians are being accused for bribery and other things. The government controls everything that goes on in our lives but yet they say it is run by the people and for the people and the only ones who really benefit are the politicians making those decisions.
Jordan Clifford
I feel like many Americans don’t know much about the political outlook in the country because of the constant news coverage on politics. It covers every detail and we often get caught up in scandals and our representatives’ personal lives, or what a political party’s opinion on national disaster is, as opposed to caring about real problems that are facing our country, because both of those topics are thrown at us on a constant loop on CNN or FOX, so we end up tuning all of it out, myself included. I also think that because politics has a negative connotation in some instances, Americans feel disconnected to the powers that be, and ultimately stop caring about it.
ReplyDeleteAs for the role of government in my own personal life doesn’t really bother me. It gives me a sense of security, but I’m not ignorant enough to think that I’m invincible because of the government. I also know that there’s not a whole lot I can do about that, so I shouldn’t worry about something I can’t really change.
Kevin Murray
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ReplyDeleteI believe that most Americans don’t know or care a whole lot about our government because they may feel that they don’t have the power as an individual to make a difference. What most people don’t understand is that you can form groups and rally to a cause and average citizens just don’t believe that they have the know how to rally a group large enough to even get consideration for their cause. Another reason might be that average Americans don’t feel they are smart enough to fully understand all the complex angles and arguments to the particular topic and don’t feel its worth looking into more in depth. As for the second part I have never had an issue with the way the American government is present in the lives of its citizens. I feel like for a country to run smoothly enough you cant just leave ordinary people to their own devices. There are absolutely limits to this but that doesn’t mean we should exile the government from our lives. There are certain groups in our population that should receive support from the rest of us like veterans. We do have a responsibility to take care of these hero’s in some way and that is a small but meaningful example of why the government does need to be involved in some cases. So to answer the question I think I would say I feel secure but cautious about how the government participates in my life.
ReplyDeleteMatt Porter
Knowing that the government plays such a big part in my everyday life makes me nervous. While I am thankful that the government has a powerful military and that local governments have police forces and fire departments that keep me safe, I feel that the government is too involved in businesses. For example, the government overstepped its bounds when it bailed out General Motors. When people argue that the government should have bailed out GM, they always forget that we live in a mixed market where the government is not responsible for keeping companies from going out of business. While a mixed market allows businesses to thrive because there are few government restrictions, it should also allow companies to fail. GM was a perfect example of a company going out of business because of poor leadership a product that the consumers did not want and unfavorable labor contracts. Some people think that GM did not do anything wrong, and like all car companies was in financial trouble because of the recession. This is not true. For example, Ford was able to make it through the recession without any government money because of strong leadership and a good product. In a mixed market, a company like GM should be allowed to fail. It is true that if GM did not get a government bailout it would have had to go through bankruptcy; the company would have had to sell off assets, may have been purchased by another company, and people would have lost their jobs. While this is not good news for GM employees, this is the risk that must be taken to get the freedoms of a mixed market. The only reason GM got a bailout was because of its size, and influence, but the precedent the government set with the GM bailout was that some companies should not be allowed to fail. I believe this safety net encourages a company to take unnecessary risk because there is no penalty for such behavior. It also puts the government in the position of choosing winners and losers in the economy.
ReplyDeleteDavid Harvey
I definitely agree with what everyone else was basically saying, most Americans do not necessarily care about what is happen within the government because it is not something that they have to deal with directly every day. Although when it does come to tax season or presidential elections Americans will criticize anything that goes a little bit wrong. I also agree with Maggie when she says that Americans don’t feel important to the government, or don’t feel like they will make a difference if they do get involved. I never really paid attention to how big of a role the government played in my life, but now that I think of it, it makes me feel uneasy. I feel as if the government could find out anything about me and that causes no privacy, which is a right we are all supposed to be given. I also see a bright side to that though; we will be safe from certain things like identity theft because the government is so active in each and every one of our lives.
ReplyDelete- Stephanie Berryhill
I agree that the government plays a huge part of every American’s day to day activities. The way people go about their days with how they go to and from work, what they buy and pay annually, and how much a persons salary should be. I do not think Americans do not care about our government system, but I feel people know only the basic roles of our government officials and the rights that one would learn in their constitution test. I also feel that people feel insignificant to our large government and feel they have no voice. I find is very sad because our first amendment gives us the power to speak up and do something if we disagree.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel at times uncomfortable and unprotected with our government. I feel that the people in Congress only make decisions that would benefit themselves or their friends. My family and I mean hardly anything to these people. I also feel at times they are being dishonest which makes me feel unsafe.
Caroline Yeager
I recently had a discussion bout this with my father. We talked about how the people of America tend to just look at the government as a separate, overlying entity that makes our decisions for us and we just go along for the ride. People think this way because whether or not they vote, petition, protest, or any of the above the government still happens and they still will have problems with a large amount of the decisions that are made in Washington. This can cause a person to feel as though they have no power in the direction of the country, their representatives make their decisions for them and thats just the way it is in their eyes. The government has almost too much power in todays society but the thing that makes it ok is that I feel safe when I go to bed at night. The way they get to making people feel safe isn't always the most efficient and un-intrusive way (wiretaps, drones, etc.) but this is the only way that they know how to do it and it will take years for them to figure out a better way.
ReplyDelete-Justin Gerber
I think people tend to turn away from politics because they feel that their voice won't be heard. People want their opinions to matter and want to know that what they feel is important, is indeed important to others and being taken into account. However, there in lies the problem. If people feel like their not being listened too, soon they'll stop talking. Concerning the government, I think many people feel that their thoughts and ideas aren't going to be taken into account or be seriously thought about. That causes people to simply not concern themselves with the matter and turn the other cheek. This year was my first year being able to vote, and I had many friends whom I asked if they were voting and they said no. When I asked why, they replied by saying "it doesn't matter" or "it's just one vote". This dismissive attitude and feeling irrelevant is exactly what's putting a gap between the people and the government.
ReplyDeleteKnowing that the government plays a huge role in our lives can sometimes make people feel unsettled and like they don't have any privacy, but I for one feel secure by the role the government plays in my life. We depend on it so much for our everyday lives that I think it's something to be grateful for, and in a sense is something I feel I need to put my trust in. Not saying that I am always in agreement with the decisions made, but with disasters, wars, and everyday conflicts we need to be able to depend on our government to come up with the right ideas and keep us safe. The amount of power they have is scary, but I think it would be scarier to be off the team than on it.
Samantha
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ReplyDeleteI believe many Americans do not care about what is happening in politics unless it directly affects them. This is sad because by the time Americans realize they are being affected it is too late to do anything. It is too late to take a stand because the tax, the new law, or whatever it is that may be affecting them has already been put into place. I feel only when something huge in politics happens and is being publicized do people start to care. American government was made for the people but the same American people are not getting involved to be heard. I know this is true because honestly, I am one of the Americans not doing anything. I am not aware of political issues unless it has to do with the issues of education and immigration because these are the issues that would affect my life directly or the people around me. It is startling that certain political officials hold office and they are the ones representing the voices of America. Growing up in Chicago, I just feel every politician is corrupt. However, I have to have faith that politicians will take the interest of the people that put them in office and listen. I know there has to be some good politicians out there that genuinely care for the people they are representing. That puts me at ease sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think the main reason people don't care about the government is because of preconceived notions of what the American political system is. The vast majority of political issues in this country do not tangibly effect the average citizen, so the impact of government actions is difficult to grasp. Further, many people are simply inherently disinterested in greater society because we live in a vastly self-centered culture. If it isn't of direct concern to the individual, it's not often viewed as important.
ReplyDeleteOn an every day scale, I'm glad for government in that it regulates laws, provides needed services to the public, and contributes to personal safety. However, the government is also very economically minded, and tends to favor business over individuals. Additionally, while I am not necessarily interested in the minutiae of the daily governmental grind, I am skeptical of what exactly our government (more specifically policy makers such as Congressmen and women) does for us. Currently (and historically), these law-making bodies have struggled to reach consensus and bipartisanship has become a farce, so far as I can tell. While many services are appreciated, I doubt the efficacy and productivity of the government.
Reflecting back on our self-quiz in class and my classmates’ comments below, I completely agree that our country is in serious trouble. Although I know there are people out there who do care much about politics and our government, I truly believe that the majority of our country isn’t educated enough nor confident enough when it comes down to making important decisions during elections. Unfortunately, I happen to be one of those people. Am I registered to vote? Yes. Have I voted in any of our past elections? No. This is because I am part of that majority that isn’t well informed enough to make those decisions. I believe that many people like myself would rather make a decision based on education and research versus a popular vote or “bandwagon” approach. Personally, I believe my physical safety is due to our government. However, from the few times that I take the time to watch and listen to the news to try and educate myself, I believe that this corrupted government has made many mistakes and they are put in power based on decisions made by uneducated and misinformed Americans. This makes us vulnerable, nervous and scared.
ReplyDelete