Politics- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Essay Example

Abstract

This paper discusses the 2 civil rights such as the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln and the Women Suffrage and their impact on American social responsibility. Also, 2 media events such as the 9/11 attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the Mass Shootings in the United States of America are discussed in relation to how it changed the opinion of the public of a government agency. Lastly, 2 differences between the Republican and Democrats on their stand on Abortion and Gay Marriages are likewise elucidated in this paper.

Civil Rights and Social Responsibility

One of the most controversial civil rights events that happened in the history of America is Emancipation Proclamation that was issued by then President Lincoln that freed the slaves in the Confederacy. It is written in the American history that the African-Americans were once considered subordinate human beings and were traded off as slaves. Even though there are many movements promoting the fundamental rights of the African-Americans, slavery was prominent and it took the very essence of African-Americans’ humanity. However, when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, the local, national and federal government and the society worked very hard to abolish slavery and to give the African-Americans their rights as human being. This is proven by the events that followed the issued Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 (Schmidhauser, 1963). As a matter of fact, in 1865, just three years after the proclamation, the Constitution of the United States of America was amended to fully abolish slavery; rights of citizenship were also given to the African-Americans. After which, the African-Americans began to shape their lives from the freedom given to them, pursued educational prospects and formed a community that provided social support. Another civil rights event that transformed America to become more socially responsible is the women suffrage. Women were not allowed to vote until they gather enough strength to fight for equality. They were granted the right to vote locally at first until in 1920, women were allowed to nationally. Up to this day, women still exercise and enjoy the freedom to vote. The society has acknowledged the fact that women can contribute to the society. The American government, eventually, allowed women to hold public office and it only boost the equal footing of women and men in the society. These events have led to the promotion of equal rights, the removal of discrimination and prejudice.

Media Events

Media events that have influenced public opinion greatly are the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the media coverage of mass shootings in the United States of America. Elucidating on the 9/11 attack, it can be seen that when the media covered it in the news, people’s opinion of the government changed drastically. A lot of people have lost trust in the government following the aftermath of the attack. Various conspiracy theories have emerged and Americans did not feel safe in their own country. In this regard, the Americans have supported all the government efforts to counter terrorism and have defended for the government to provide more safety measures for its people’s protection such as tight security at the airports, malls and other public places. On the other hand, the media coverage (print, radio, television and internet) of the mass shootings in the United States also spikes the interest of the public regarding the government’s stand on gun control and the right to bear arms in the country. The media has covered not just one incident of mass shootings in the country. As a matter of fact, it has been recorded that in the 1,004 calendar days 994 mass shootings have already been reported such as the Oregon Campus Shooting and the mass shooting of 9 African-American people in Charleston, South Carolina. This has spark debates on gun control in the country. Even President Obama stated that gun violence in the country has become a routine. It has become a part of the daily undertakings of America. Now, people are asking the government for some changes regarding how the country is handling gun control in relation to the constitutionally protected right to bear arms with the inclusion of taking into consideration the mental health of every person bearing arms. Even politicians are planning for new gun control to address the call for gun laws These two events have left the American society questions about the integrity of their government and what it can do for them (Wells & Weaton, 2002).

Differences between the Republican and Democrat and Ethical Impact

Republicans and the democrats are two differing government parties with similar goals of providing Americans a better United States of America. Two major differences between the two parties are their stand on Abortion and Gay Marriage. The Republicans view marriage as a sacred union between a man and a woman and should be kept that way. They seem to gear towards the Conservative on this issue. In this regard, there are issues arising out of their position on gay marriage such as the pursuance of religious liberty laws that will protect service providers who do not want to provide their services for same sex marriages. It is also feared that the Republicans will continually challenge the Supreme Court’s ruling that allows same sex marriages and overturn the ruling. On the other hand, the Democrats believe that marriage is a human right that should be afforded to anyone regardless of their sex. The approach is more progressive than that of the Republicans. This is probably in response to the call of the society for equality between men, women and the gay community. The party is being praised for its courage to support the freedom to marry without discrimination or prejudice. Moreover, the Republicans support abortion on the grounds that even the unborn child has the right to life and that inherent life should not be infringed. However, they do not seek any punitive actions against women who would have required an abortion to save their own lives. In addition to this, the party has been making all the efforts to expand the adoption assistance and health care for adopted children with special needs. The Democrats, on the other hand, is pro-choice. This has been balanced through the conclusion of the Supreme Court that women have the right choose to abort fetus within the 1^st and 2^nd trimester into the pregnancy. Once the fetus is viable, only a danger to a woman’s life is abortion can be exempted from any legal liability (Sharpe, 1999).

References

Schmidhauser, J. (1963). Constitutional law in the political process. Chicago: Rand Mcnally & Company.

Sharpe, E. (1999). The sometime connection: public opinion and social policy. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

Wells, M. & Eaton, T. (2002). Constitutional Remedies: A Reference Guide to the United States Constitution. Westport, CT: Praeger.