American Government Reflections

Chapter 1: Role of Government

Government and the Public Good
Though the first section of chapter one defines some of the many concepts in government and
government itself, I found that the definitions helped me understand more about what constitutes
a government. From reading the first chapter, I found that their are some aspects of life that I
never think the government has any connection too. Usually, when I think about government and
politics, I imagine the political candidates for presidency, senators, and the House of
Representatives. Rarely, do I think of the ways that the government plays into transportation,
healthcare, and other aspects of daily life. I know that the origins of our government were
founded upon the ideas of John Locke, but I wonder what the government and the lives of the
people would have been if we had followed Thomas Hobbes or another philosopher's idea on
government. What rights would we have? If the people had no authority and did not have the
ability to give the government the right to govern, would the U.S. have reverted back into
monarchy or another form of government in which the people had no say? How specifically does
the government protect people from unfair or harmful business practices? Additionally, when
reading the newspaper and other media sources that state their views on government proposals
and policies, many take extreme viewpoints and do not offer the public's viewpoint as a whole.
Many times the most liberal or conservative people make their views known and I wonder how
this influences the perception of others. How much do their opinions affect the way people vote?
This could make for a possible study on how much others viewpoints affect our view of the
government.
Forms of Government
I found this chapter helped illuminate the various types of government that are found today.
Though I knew about the types of government such as a republic or democracy, monarchy, and
dictatorship, I did not know that within these broader types of governments there could be
different ways that each could function. I also did not fully understand the difference between an
oligarchy and an autocracy before reading the definitions in this section. The definitions helped
me understand the differences between each form of government. As for the government of the
United States, I learned that a republic and democracy are two words for the same type of
government and that within the government, the power is split up in several ways. Before
reading this section I knew nothing about the unitary, federal, and confederal systems--how they
differed, how they operated, and what they were. I now know that the United States is a republic
with a federal and presidential system. This means that the power is divided between national,
state, and local governments and that members of the executive and legislative branch are elected
into office by the people for a set number of terms. This would allow people to change their
representatives if they feel they no longer represent the will of the people and makes sure that the
person elected accurately reflects the public. How did we decide the number of terms that they
can represent the people? How did we decide the length of those terms? Why are these terms the
optimal length and number of terms that a person can serve? However, before the Constitution,
the United States operated as a confederal system. Additionally, within most monarchies today,
the king or queen is primarily a ceremonial head of state and holds no real power. Why then, do
they continue to keep the monarch if they do not have any real power or role in the government?
What do these ceremonial heads of state do if the power is in another part of the government?
What would happen if there were no ceremonial heads of state?

Foundations of Democracy
Democracy has survived and thrived because of the people's ability to choose. The ability to
choose gives the feeling that they are in control of their lives and what happens to them. If the
make a mistake they are more likely to accept the responsibility and the consequences of their
choices. It helps to accurately depict the wants and needs of the people. This means that when we
are given the chance to vote, we can express our views on what the government should do and
help mold the world that we want to live in. However, even with this ability to choose many
people may not take advantage of their power. Several times around major voting times, whether
it be for the presidency or for laws, I have known people who do not go into vote. This is
because they either believe that enough people share their view that they do not need to vote,
they have no opinion on the matter, they do not want to drive to the voting polls, and many other
inexcusable reasons. They throw away their right to vote and then complain about the results. If
you did not vote how can you complain or get angry at the government when they follow the
majority's decision based on those who voted? What will happen to a country where many
people have the right to vote, but choose to not exercise their rights? I have seen this happen with
real elections and within the student body at El Segundo when we vote for the ASB student body.
Then, within a democracy the people have freedoms that others do not. They have freedom of
speech, freedom to worship, and more even if the majority do not believe in the same ideas,
religion, etc. that you believe in. I also learned that their are two forms of democracy that is used
in our government today. Direct democracy gives the people a direct say in the government's
affairs where as representative democracy has the people elect a representative to conduct it for
them.