Politics, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

 The 1787 constitutional convention set the pace for the United States of America to become the Constitutional Republic.  The 100-day meeting was initially set to determine how the United States will be governed.  However, the meeting led to the creation of the United States Constitution. The US Constitution is the supreme law of the country.  The US Constitution has been able to establish a servant attitude among leaders.  The Constitution contains the phrase” we the People” denoting that the government exists to serve its people (Tushnet, & Levinson, 2015).  The Constitution also gives a voice to those accused and taken to court.  For example, article three protects the right to trial by jury in criminal cases.  Article three also sets boundaries of the power of the judiciary thus protecting the public from misuse of power.

            The civil rights movement (1954-1968) is a civil rights event that aimed at ending racial segregation and securing legal recognition.  The event was organized by the African American community with the intent of advocating for greater rights and greater participation in society.  Under Martin Luther King, the movement advocated for the provision of the rights of citizenship as provided in the 14th and 15th amendment.  The civil right movement played a great role in influencing a sense of social responsibility in the American government.  For example, the government became more inclusive as minority communities were also represented.  The election of President Obama as the 44th and the first African American president of the United States was a demonstration of the success of the movement in advocating for the rights of the African American (Lofaso, 2017).  The American community received the recognition they deserved and got equal opportunities in the social, economic, and political platforms in the United States.

Media Events

 Media reports on the surveillance of Americans by the government have increased criticism towards the government.  The US surveillance program is an initiative aimed at monitoring and collecting information as part of efforts at detecting any terrorist activities.  While the intent is to safeguard the American public; a majority of citizens perceive the government to be violating their privacy.  Specifically, the public is angry at the National Security Agency (NSA) at it is the lead in the monitoring efforts. The monitoring activities by the NSA were secret until Edward Snowden leaked the information to the press.  The NSA is said to monitor and listen to phone calls, access emails and content on the social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.  The public feels that NSA is violating the 4th amendment that that provides the American citizen to the right of privacy and the right against unreasonable searches and seizures (Landau, 2013).

            A BBC (2015) news report on the police killing of unarmed blacks men highlight how the police department is failing the African American community.   The news report indicated that young African American men such as Michael Brown and Freddie Gray died after being shot by police yet, they were unarmed.  The news event painted a negative picture of the police.  The police are law enforcement agents that are expected to ensure peace, law, and order. Unfortunately, the continued killing of innocent black men paints the law enforcement department as the cause of chaos and confrontation, racist and discriminatory.  For example, the presentation of evidence that a majority of the killer cops are white paints an image of an agency that is racist.  An African American citizen thus feels threatened in the presence of the police (BBC, 2015).

The Republicans versus the Democrats

 The democrats and republicans differ on several issues that affect the American population.  A critical issue that has been a constant aspect of the debate is the sanctity of human life.  Specifically, the democrats and republicans have been on different platforms when it comes to matters of abortion.  Democrats believe that it would be an infringement of women’s rights to force them to have children when they are not ready.  The Democrats, therefore, support abortion and initiatives such as Planned Parenthood that help women make abortion-related decisions.  In contrast, the Republicans assert the sanctity of human life and thus are against abortion.  The Republicans believe that an unborn child has the right to life and engaging in abortion infringes that right.  The debate and contrasting opinion on abortion have an ethical impact on the American public.  For example, a woman or young girl may have been raised in a religious setting that prohibits abortion, but the government provides her with the alternative of having an abortion.  The woman finds herself in an ethical dilemma where she is unsure whether to follow her beliefs or have an abortion as the services are available (Dolan, & Lynch, 2017). 

Republicans and Democrats also have different views on immigration.  While the Democrats denounce President’s trumps efforts to ban the entry of immigrants from Muslims countries, the Republicans want stringent measures on persons from homelands that breed terrorists.  The different presents and ethical dilemma as it fosters discrimination across the American population.  For example, a citizen of Arab descent and Islam religion may face a backlash from a public that perceives her or him as a potential terrorist.

 Reference

BBC (2015). Why do US police keep killing unarmed blacks men? BBC News

Dolan, K., & Lynch, T. (2017). Do Candidates Run as Women and Men or Democrats and Republicans? Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 1-25

Landau, S. (2013). What's significant in the NSA surveillance revelations. IEEE Security & Privacy, 11(4), 54-63

Lofaso, A. M. (2017). Connecting Nineteenth-Century Antislavery and Labor Movements with Twenty-First-Century Workers' Rights. Jotwell: J. Things We Like, 20.

Tushnet, M. V., & Levinson, S. (Eds.). (2015). The Oxford Handbook of the US Constitution. Oxford Handbooks

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in affordable custom research papers. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from legitimate essay writing service services.