chapter 5

1.)     I believe the government does all that they can to reduce instances of racial discrimination. Granted the government cannot always prevent such instances. I feel no matter their efforts there will always be bias against peoples of a different race, simply because a lot of people within our nation do not understand another races ways or are ignorant to their culture and beliefs. The lack of knowledge and comprehension produces assumptions about different races and that is wrong. With the Civil Rights Movement, many races, not only African Americans, gained more rights and eventually equal liberties in the United States. There will always be bigotry and racial discrimination no matter what the government does to aid in the equal rights of races in the United States. This is a sad statement, but a true one.

2.)    Gender discrimination is still an issue in today’s society. Women have made great progress to obtain the right to be on an equal playing field with men; however, there is much room for improvement. Before the Women’s Suffrage Movement, women weren’t even allowed to vote, but thanks to strong women with big voices we now have that right.  In the workplace however, not always do women get the same pay, benefits, or positions that a male co-worker would. I have witnessed many women who hold the same position as male counterparts yet they do not receive the same pay or respect. I do not believe this is right and believe that government should make more of an effort to equalize pay for women in the workplace.

3.)    Discrimination against sexual orientation is a hot topic in our government today. I do not believe that the government has done very much to aid in the equal rights of people with sexual orientations other than heterosexual. Homosexual acts are still even considered illegal in some states and are only protected by the privacy act, which means a gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. couple can only show affection in the privacy of their own home. I feel that a lot of this issue comes back to separation of church and state. I believe that if our government truly practiced separation of church and state that people of the homosexual or bisexual orientation would have equal rights (i.e. right to be married and show affection in public). Our leaders and law makers let their Christian faith and values influence their opinions when making such laws. This should not happen and should not be allowed to happen, and yet it does. Our nation stands upon equality for all. Yet, our government turns around makes it illegal for two persons of the same sex  (American citizens) that love each other to get married because of their religion doesn’t agree with it. If they let their religion influence the laws that are passed how can we say that they practice and follow the establishment clause? How does our government not see that this is unconstitutional?  How is there are equal rights for all?  How can you say that we have separation of church and state when clearly one specific religion influences our politicians and the laws that they pass? So in conclusion, I feel that the government has done very little to support or gain equal rights for all sexual orientations. I further believe that it is time for our government to step-up to the plate, stop discriminating, and do something about this issue. 

chapter 4

1.)    Not only do I feel that freedom of speech is important, I believe that is crucial to our nation and us as citizens to maintain our freedom. It is necessary that we as a people of a free nation have the right to have a voice and the right to speak out against circumstances and laws that we do not agree with.  I do not feel that the freedom goes too far at all, the only instances that I believe free speech should not be protected is if the speech is a form of hate speech (i.e. against a group of people such as races, genders, or sexual orientations) or if the speech means to demean or threaten our government.

2.)    I feel that if our government is to make fair laws that give equal rights to all citizens and people living in this country separation of church and state is crucial, although I believe that there is not much of a separation of church and state in today’s government.  I feel that our elected officials and law makers cannot or should not let their personal convictions of religion come into play when making laws for this country.  In the United States we have freedom of religion, meaning that there are a vast amount of religions practiced in this country. Laws should not reflect or show support of one religion or the other. If our government puts laws into place and makes things illegal that impede on other people’s rights simply because that is their personal belief and what they have been taught in their religion, how you can say that we have freedom of religion or that everyone in this country is equal? Some laws that are in place today do reflect or show support to a certain religion, and I do not agree with this. Religion should have no factor in law making and has no place in government.  When we make laws all that should be discussed or worried about is if the law is constitutional, and if that law gives people equal rights or takes away from their equality as American citizens.

3.)    I believe that defendants rights are very important to our government and that the amount of rights that defendants currently have are not excessive by any means. Everyone who is accused of committing a crime is entitled to a fair and speedy trial and to be tried by a jury of their peers. Our government also has other rules in place such as warrants, right to counsel, and self incrimination. All of these policies are put into place to protect us, our privacy, and our rights as U.S. citizens. Without these rules and regulations in place we would have a very poor justice system and innocent people would be convicted of crimes more than they are today. Granted there are many bad people out there that commit heinous crimes that may not deserve these rights in our opinions, but they are still an American citizen and are still entitled to these rights and to be treated equally as all others.  I know many people do believe that defendant’s rights are excessive, but try to put yourself in the defendant’s shoes. What if it were you on trial for a crime you may or may not have committed? You would want fairness and all of these rights granted to you, just as you and everyone else deserves.

chapter 3

1.)    I do believe that a strong national government is necessary and that the majority of the power and big decision making should be held by the national government.  If state governments had equal or more powers than the national government, then states would become selfish and put their own individual states needs before that of the nation as a whole. The unity of the individual states is also important for other reason such as military necessity.

2.)    The onset of the Great Depression power began to shift to the national government because the entire nation was in a poor economic state and the people wanted action and aid from national government.  When the nation began to come out of the Depression and at the beginning of the Nixon administration, powers began to flow back to the state governments, again as it rightly should have. At that time, after the nation’s foundation as a whole was stable with Nixon and Reagan administrations, we began to practice New Federalism.  The main idea behind New Federalism and general revenue sharing and block grants, was that the states could more efficiently spend governmental resources where that specific states needed it better than the national government could.  This shift was very necessary in my opinion. During the great depression, we suffered a national crisis which called for unity and a strong national government to fix the issue. After these issues were resolved, power began to shift back to the states where it had originally lied so that the states could solve state issues and leave large matters that affected the entire nation to the national government.

3.)    I believe that national, state, and local governments should all aid and support education financially and in other ways, but the authority to regulate education should lie with the national government. Education or what is taught in our schools should not be regulated or determined by individual states or local governments.  I believe that the same curriculum taught in Tennessee schools should be taught in California schools – all schools within the nation should have the same curriculum or syllabus. This way all state educational systems are on the same page and our children are all learning the same material regardless of race, creed, gender, or social standing.  Every child deserves not only the best education that we as a nation can provide but they also deserve an equal opportunity education and that can be achieved through facilitating a national curriculum.    

chapter 2

1.)    The Articles of the Confederation were the first initial governing authority of the United States which gave Congress limited basic powers such as disputes between states, coin money, and establish post offices. The Article’s united the thirteen separate states and established the United States of America. Most powers lied within State Legislature. The primary disadvantage was the limited power that Congress held over the states that led to each state selfishly looking out for themselves which often affected the majority vote within Congress and thus making other states suffer greatly.  The switch to the Constitution made governing much easier and gave majority power to congress to make over all decisions that affected everyone. The Constitution established separation of powers, checks and balances, and further added a judiciary system to help ensure self-interest or dishonesty were not issues.

2.)    The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the constitution which provide our basic political rights.  Without the Bill of Rights, we as citizens would be voiceless, powerless, and have no say in today’s government and law making. Also, many citizens’ ideas, beliefs, and religion in today’s America would be suppressed.  We would be unable to voice our opinions on political issues and the right to protest or petition laws and politics that we as individuals believe to be unfair or unconstitutional would not be possible. In order to protect our rights, I believe that the Bill of Rights is extremely crucial in the type of national government that we now have. These ten amendments give us freedom, give us a voice, and also protect us from unjust legal proceedings. Without the Bill of Rights the United Sates would undoubtedly be in an extreme state of unrest and revolt may possibly occur - just as it did when our founders fought for independence against the suppression of Great Britain.

3.)    Is capital punishment constitutional? I personally do agree with the death penalty and sometimes feel that the judicial system is somewhat lenient with the sentences that are given to people convicted of heinous crimes, such as murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a child. If a person is so cruel that they can commit these senseless crimes, unless proven beyond a doubt to have a mental disease that caused this behavior, I do think that the option of the death penalty as punishment should be visited. I do not believe that federal government should make a law requiring all states to hand down capital punishments; this should be determined by state legislature, as it is now.  When a person is tried for a crime, they are tried by a jury of their peers. If capital punishment is legal in that state, I do agree that the jury made of the defendants peers should be the ones to recommend or decide the punishment whether it be life imprisonment or the death penalty.  Ultimately the matter of capital punishment boils down to personal conviction, and in my personal conviction I do believe the death penalty is constitutional.