American Federal Government - Module 2 Discussions
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Daytona State College *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
POS2041
Subject
Political Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
Pages
6
Uploaded by SuperFlower12550
Chapter 5
2.
Many advances in civil rights have been accomplished through federal legislation.
Describe the different parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of
1965. What have these two laws accomplished?
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 encompasses protection against discrimination in
public accommodations, segregation in schools, and discrimination by employers in
hiring, promoting, and laying off employees. It also includes protection for women
against discrimination, this was incorporated from the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of
1963.
The Civil Right Act of 1964 also created administrative agencies to help the courts
implement the changes brought on by the Act. Title IV of the Civil Right Act of 1964 is an
example of this. It gave the Justice Department the authority to implement federal court
orders for school desegregation without waiting for individual parents to bring
complaints. It also stated that federal-in-aid grants must be withheld from any school
that was still practicing segregation. This worked well to desegregate schools not in the
South.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created The Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC). The EEOC had the power to revoke or prohibit federal contracts for
goods or services with any private company that couldn’t guarantee they would not
discriminate. They also had the power to initiate legal suits without first waiting for a
complaining party.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 accomplished many things.
Thanks to the act, public
accommodations quickly removed blatant forms of discrimination, such as signs stating
“colored” or “white”. Many suits were brought against school districts to enforce these
new laws. Employers were held to new levels of scrutiny. This was fundamental for the
momentum of the civil rights movement.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 opened the door for many minority and
un/undereducated constituents to be able to exercise their right to vote. It barred literacy
and other tests as a condition to vote. It set criminal penalties for those that did not
follow the order. It also provided replacements for local registrars with federally
appointed ones in counties that were named resistant to registering eligible Black voters.
Donata Hunter
Chapter 6
1. What is the difference between a value and a political ideology? Describe some of the
characteristics and beliefs that define liberalism, conservatism, socialism, and
libertarianism in contemporary American politics. What are the main differences between
liberalism and conservatism in terms of their emphasis on core American values?
A value is one’s beliefs or basic principles that shape a person’s opinions about
political issues and events. They include many aspects of one’s life outside of politics.
Some other areas that values play a role in our lives are our moral compass, individual
and social ethics, and our ideals that affect how we see our surrounding society,
governments, and economy.
A political ideology is a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a
general philosophy about the role of government. A person will generally hold firm
beliefs that align with their personal and political ideology.
A liberal classically was someone who favored individual entrepreneurship and was
suspicious of government and its ability to manage affairs. This would most closely
resemble today’s libertarian. However, in today’s day and age, a liberal generally
supports social and political reform, governmental intervention in the economy, more
economic equality, expansion of federal social services, and greater concern for
consumers and the environment. It has also amounted to supporting government
policies when they aim to create a fairer economic system, including progressive
taxation.
Conservatives on the other hand tend to hold the classic liberal ideology. They
support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce
new political formulas and economic arrangements. They also believe that a large
government poses a risk to the freedom of individual citizens, small businesses, free
markets, and democracy.
Socialists feel more government is necessary to promote justice and reduce
economic and social inequality. They generally believe in social ownership, strong
government, free markets, and a reduction in economic inequality.
Libertarianism emphasizes freedom and believes in voluntary association with a
small government. They believe that government interferes with freedom of expression,
free markets, and society, and thus should be involved as little as possible in both the
economy and society.
Conservatism and liberalism differ in many aspects. Conservatives tend to support
government policies aimed at fairer economic systems and opportunities for upward
mobility, the LGBTQ community, women’s reproductive rights, measures to fight climate
change and other environmental issues, as well as the legalization of marijuana. And
they tend to oppose the U.S. military interventions in other countries. Liberalism is quite
the opposite. They believe that a large government poses a risk to individual freedoms
and are more reluctant to the expansion of government activity and feel that social and
economic problems can be solved through the private sector, local agencies, and
religious organizations. They also oppose same-sex marriage, legalized abortions, and
legalization of recreational drugs. While they support military interventions abroad.
Donata Hunter
Chapter 6
3. What is the first political event that you can recall? What is the party identification of
your parents? Did your family members encourage political discussion? How did their
opinions and attitudes about politics affect yours?
The first political event that I can remember is the Al Gore and George Bush
election of 2000. I was only 11 at the time, but I recall the election being so close that
Florida was the tiebreaker, and reporting on election night was teetering back and forth
between whether Gore or Bush had won. However, because I lived in Florida, specifically
Volusia County, which had to perform a recount by hand, it was being talked about by all
the adults that I encountered. In the end, Bush ended up winning the election by very
few votes and everyone moved on.
My parents are Democrats.
They both regularly engage in conversations related to
politics and political issues that may affect them and those around them. However, I
rarely heard talk of issues that didn’t affect family or community. My mother, more so
than my father, made and still makes an effort to make sure that my siblings and I are up
to date on current events and political issues that may affect us directly or indirectly.
While I know that the way I was raised and the values and beliefs instilled into me
while I was growing up play a big part in what side I fall on in most political issues, I don’t
think that I was too heavily influenced by their views since we generally don’t agree on
most political topics. We all agree on the fact that discrimination on any basis is wrong,
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
reproductive rights, LBGTQ rights, and are strong in our views of liberty, but we all fall on
different areas of the spectrum on these and many other issues.
Donata Hunter
Chapter 7
1. The First Amendment assigns a special place for the media by protecting freedom of
speech and freedom of the press. What are the three primary roles that the media should
serve in a democratic society? What are some of the challenges the American media
faces in fulfilling these roles? Consider the impact of the profit motive in American media
coverage and the country's unique system of media ownership in fulfilling these roles.
The three primary roles that the media should serve in a democracy are informing
the public about current political issues and events, providing a forum for all to debate
policies and issues, and acting as a watchdog on the actions of politicians and
government. Part of informing the public of current political issues and events involves
allowing consumers a variety of perspectives and opinions. The information that they
present on their forum allows citizens to make informed decisions and form
knowledgeable opinions, so they must be thorough in their reporting and vetting their
sources for credibility. This also means allowing views that may not align with their own.
Their duties of being a watchdog for the people include scrutinizing the elected officials
on behalf of the citizens, who are mostly ordinary citizens without the means to closely
follow the actions of politicians and the government. They also bring to light important
changes in laws, policies, and regulations that citizens may not otherwise have
knowledge of.
The media faces many challenges when it comes to fulfilling these roles. They
must be objective and give each side an equal representation on their platform. This can
be hard because media avenues earn most of their revenue from advertisements.
Subscription revenue is only recently starting to rise. This affects what is being seen by
their viewers and readers. While most news outlets will claim to not let funding sway
their reporting, it is usually apparent on which side the writer of the news information
stands. This is most likely in huge part because it can be incredibly hard to put your
views and opinions to the side and completely report the facts. Media outlets also must
overcome the numerous amounts of competition. With information so easily available
from so many sources, media resources have resorted to needing headlines to grab the
reader’s attention. This can lead to reporting on superficial news that just has to do with
drama and controversial issues instead of real matters. With so few companies owning
most of the news outlets they must be careful in their reporting to make sure that
opposing views are brought to their consumers’ attention.
Donata Hunter
Chapter 7
2. Digital media have revolutionized the way Americans get their news. Discuss the
requirements of digital citizenship and how these requirements produce the so-called
digital divide. In addition, weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet as a
tool for Americans to learn about politics.
The requirements of digital citizenship are a daily internet user with high-speed
broadband home internet access and the technology and literacy skills to go online for
employment, news, politics, entertainment, commerce, and other activities. Those that
have obtained digital citizenship have the ability to participate in society and politics in
online forums. These requirements produce the so-called digital divide because of the
inequalities in access due to income and education, which are also both heavily related.
Some of the advantages of using the internet for learning about politics are that so
many resources are at your fingertips once you learn where to look. It gives users a
platform to debate about issues important to them and their communities. It also allows
them more options for viewing the opinions of their peers as well as news sites and
articles. Online users are much more likely to be exposed to political issues that are not
heavily reported elsewhere.
Some of the disadvantages of using the internet to learn about politics are that
there are massive amounts of information being put out and it can be hard to distinguish
between credible sources and propaganda. Learning where to go to find accurate and
current information, as well as being able to sift through it can cause confusion to a large
part of the masses. It can also be incredibly overwhelming with so much information
being thrown at you and no real way to filter it.
Donata Hunter
Chapter 7
10. Discuss the reasons why broadcast media is subject to more regulation than print
media. What are the main regulatory challenges in managing content on the Internet?
Should the internet be regulated like broadcast media, or subject to fewer regulations,
like print media?
Broadcast media is subject to more regulations than print media because it is
regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Over-the-air broadcast
media has strict rules to protect children from being exposed to obscenity, indecency,
and profanity. Radio and TV stations must hold FCC licenses that have to be renewed
every 5 years. Print and online media do not follow these same standards and are
essentially free of government interference.
The main regulatory challenge in managing content on the internet would have to
be that their speech is protected by the first amendment.
Therefore, there is no
censoring agency. This proves to be incredibly difficult to impose sanctions or put
restrictions on what they may report on. However, it also makes it more difficult for the
media themselves to keep misinformation from becoming rampant.
I feel that the internet should be less regulated than broadcast media because
citizens need a completely free place to share their ideas and hear those of many others
with varying opinions. Children shouldn’t have regular access to these instruments on
their own so strict censoring policies are not as vital. Most adults are capable of
researching what they find and making informed decisions for themselves if the
information is readily available.
Donata Hunter
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help