COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA

Assignment for course: PSC

101- Intro to American Politics

Submitted to: Dr. Earnest N. Bracey

Submitted By: Montserrat Navarro

5003872063

1649 Mexican Poppy st.

702 406 8845

Date of submission: April 15, 2021

Title of Assignment: Freedom, Justice, and Nevada Politics. Chapter 7-9 Summary

CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any

assistance I received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have

also cited any sources from which I used date, ideas, or words, either quoted or directly or

paraphrased. I also certify that this paper was prepared by me specifically for this course.

Student Signature:
 1

Freedom, Justice, and Nevada Politics. Chapter 7-9 Summary

Is freedom the ability to peacefully protest, be indifferent to politics, or being able to

legally gamble? American Politics and Culture Wars by Dr. Earnest Bracey et al. (1998) begins

chapter 7 by asking readers what freedom means. Today, the term freedom has been skewed due

to movies and music. Bracey et al. explains that in the United States, we feel free because no one

is monitoring our thoughts or engaging in hate crimes. Ultimately, technology improves our

education and careers all while entertaining us. Women strive to find a man that has all three of

those. Media has depicted scientists creating methods of torture causing people to trust less in

scientists and our governments. Instead, immense amounts of time are spent researching to

develop a cure for aids, create commercial products and improve our technology.

Thomas Hobbes, an English philosopher known to be a founder of modern political

philosophy expressed his doubts through his famous 1651 book, Leviathan, where he argues that

freedom is dangerous due to the savage instincts that humans have, that need to be controlled.

This type of control requires a strong ruler to organize the chaotic masses. Hobbes advocates for

government. He asked critics to consider the lifestyle in the mid-1600s. Where English

gentlemen carried guns and feared for their life.

Forty years after Hobbes’ argument, John Locke wrote that men were capable of

governing themselves by majority rule. In his world, men are able to restrain themselves due to

their belief that “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty or possessions.” This

belief leads Americans to dream of someday being equal to others. Bracey et al. sets the tone for

the chapter by asking “is being equal a form of freedom?”

In our famous Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, he wrote that

all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You
 2

begin to ask yourself where does our freedom come from? The national government protects

citizens through the Bill of Rights. The amendments prohibit cruel punishment, unreasonable

police procedures, freedom of speech, press, and religion. The 10 sentences in the Bill of Rights

have been analyzed by the Supreme Court. It takes a constitutional scholar to understand our

rights. Chapter 7 continues to go more in depth about the freedom of speech, press, religion, and

association. Bracey et al. demonstrates how rules are made as situations occur. By the time radio

music came along, music got louder and louder leading demands for more laws and regulations.

Eventually, violators that didn’t respect the designated music areas were fined.

Television is another source of technology influencing children’s morality. In 1996,

President Clinton signed a telecommunication bill passed by Congress. This law allowed parents

to block out programs with violence, sex and other objectionalable material. Later on, computers

and the internet joined the bandwagon. The term obscenity became the next issue, what did it

even mean and who determines it? Culture Wars explains that in order to “control the flow of

information, the government defined “obscene” anything that might be “disruptive” (Bracey et. al

p. 188). Since the media and access to the internet emerged in our world, laws have been created

back to back to defend the innocence of children. Eventually, the Communications Decency Act

(CDA), passed by Congress, raised an important question for this new CyberSpace era, “To what

extent can the operators of interactive media be held responsible for the material that moves

through their systems?” (Bracey et. al p 191). The Supreme Court eventually ruled that Congress

had violated the First Amendment free speech rights when CDA was passed but that sexual

predators could still be locked up after prison if considered to still be dangerous.

The chapter ends by stating that Americans don’t want the “Big Brother” government. An

expression used to state that the government is watching over us and telling us what to do from
 3

getting yearly smog checks to wearing seatbelts. But in reality, there’s a bigger picture than that

which ties into our topic of freedom. Nearly two-thirds of companies spy on their employees by

keeping records of their phone calls, e-mails, voicemails, and videotapes. This question leads

back to the question, what is freedom?

Chapter 8 leads into what justice really is, what is fair and what is not? In 1985, prisoner

Carrol Edward Cole was the first person to die by a lethal injection in a Nevada prison. Legally,

cruel and unusual punishment means any lingering torture, mutilation, infliction of pain, or any

type of degrading treatment. The previous chapter discusses freedom, but justice contradicts

because Americans have imposed legal death penalties, gas chambers, and now lethal injections.

Every culture has its own idea of justice. Our culture has defined it as fair play, impartiality, etc.

In 1972, the Supreme Court decided to prohibit states from applying the death penalty.

This left the door open to resume other practices if the death penalty was taken away. The

ancient Greeks viewed the death penalty to be the symbol of society’s punishment for people

who committed high crimes. Killing anyone through gas chambers, firing squad, or even a lethal

injection is shocking and has the possibility of making a mistake. The chapter goes on to give

examples of practices that are still debatable such as considering it cruel to isolate prisoners in

cells without television or how taxpayers are upset because it costs a lot of money to house

convicts.

In the United States, justice means using power or authority to uphold what is right, or

lawful. This leads into the rhetorical question in Culture Wars, “Have the federal courts secured

a steady, upright, and impartial administration of justice?” (Bracey et. al p 218) Towards the end
 4

of chapter 8, Bracey et al. asks if it would be easier to prevent crimes at its source rather than

wait for a murder and then find adequate punishments.

Alas chapter 9 brings us to Nevada’s politics. In the past decade, Las Vegas has emerged

as the world’s foremost tourist destination and also the country’s fastest growing state

population. Nevada is known for being located within the Great Basin. The geography and

resources explain how those in Nevada earn their income. The state of Nevada was dominated by

mining companies. Eventually income from gaming took over the town. By 1966, Las Vegas

transitioned to an actual resort city after billionaire, Howard Hughes arrived into the scene.

As the city develops into a resort destination, technology is put to great use. From casino

ads to showgirls, technology has developed ways to manipulate the population. Freedom in

Nevada has its own definition. In the 1776 Declaration of Independence, Article 1, Section 1

reads, “All men are, by Nature, Free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights, among

which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty; Acquiring, Possessing and Protecting

property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.” The question is, do those words

apply today?

Nevada justice is handed down through an umbrella system. It includes the justice courts,

municipal courts, district courts and the state supreme court. Politics is the struggle for power to

determine how goods and services will be allocated. Those who govern us, have the power to tax

us. They are also able to use legitimate force including the military and the police. Culture Wars

explains why the government exists for two reasons. The first being able to provide services for

people that can not provide their own police or unemployment insurance. The government also

regulates laws to keep people’s interest from tearing one another.

 5

The law in Nevada has been able to punish those who post child pornography, allows

employers to perform pre-employment drug tests, and keep children away from alcohol by

pressing an age limit. Nevada truly has a culture and laws of its own.