Assignment 3

“The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man, and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation and practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to cooperate for their common good.”

The passage explains that men are going to naturally have interest, special interest as said. President Madison explained that it can reach any level of society and the best defense against it is diversity. America is an enormous country that has attracted people from all parts of the world. These people have different background, belief, race and so on, but they are allowed to fight for the right to protect their community. This dynamic in the government has evolved since his time and the battle to maintain a fair society can be difficult because of the power of money. Many Americans have been complaining of the diminishing middle class in the country and that this is allowing the rich 1% to control everybody else.

I chose this passage because of how important it is to us. As I said before, millions traveled to America for freedom and to be able to see their fellow countrymen live in the same spirit. I believe to continue progression and protect the core values of this nation, we need to have a strong middle class that can unite and maintain the balance of power and interest.   

Assignment 2

“In other words most people never challenge their own superficial first impressions and are content with getting by on that. This second reaction he regards as clearly better than aggression or hostility, and argues that under certain conditions amusement can be constructive.” “What is America?” in the book What I Saw in America, by British writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

My interpretation of what the author is saying is that Americans use superficial stereotypes to a lot of times create a first impression of an individual. This thinking mechanism makes it easier for people to establish a safe opinion that is somewhat generally accepted. He continues to elaborate about people emotions and that using stereotypes makes people feel like they are right and it is sufficient for people to be self-confident. Furthermore, he explains that this type of thinking mechanism can be “constructive” because “it is better than aggression or hostility”.  

I believe the main focus of the passage can be explained by a personal example from our modern day society. Initially when I first moved to New York City at a young age, I became aware of the mass diversity in the city. As I familiarized myself with the residents of the city, I learned of how people perceive each other by stereotypes. Residents are strongly opinionated and most of the time are satisfied with these labels as form of describing someone in a factual manner.  Also these labels can be a form of breaking the ice and it “creates conditions of amusement that can be constructive” as Chesterton said.

I chose this quote because I was fascinated by how people’s ways thinking now are somewhat similar to Chesterton times. This quote relates to the class because I think our politicians use “superficial first impressions” and are “content with getting by with that”.

Assignment 1

Despite Negativity, Americans Mixed on Ideal Role of Gov't

 

“Partisan views about government power are highly dependent on which party controls government, and on the political and social environment at the time of the survey. At this point, 77% of Republicans say the government has too much power, compared with 63% of independents and 32% of Democrats -- which reflects the current Republican position that there is too much government spending and power in domestic and economic affairs.”

This quote offers an understanding of how a democracy works at time. The people in power are supported by constituents that are loyal to their party, and also are less critical of them regardless if the actions taken are not ethical. This quote presents the issue of the government having too much power. At the time of the poll, we had a Democratic president in power and 77% of Republicans said that the government has too much power. But once a Republican president is elected, the percentage goes down.

I chose this quote because it allows the people to understand one of the powers that moves the government.  Many of us have strong personalities and identity traits that we guard with everything at our disposal regardless of what others think. This goes to demonstrate that as long as your political party is in power, it is ok for them to have too much power.