"American democracy is doomed" the alarming article written for the website VOX by Matthew Yglesias is a critical approach to the many problems that can arise in our current political system. The article, written in October of 2015, is for the online publication VOX founded by Ezra Klein, who has been a prominent figure in our media system. The author argues that because we have a president and a congress that are both elected to their positions separate of one another, that constitutional crises will occur. While the Matthew Yglesias does provide some powerful examples of recent presidential administrations flirting with unconstitutional deeds, and claiming that these actions will lead to "a collapse of the legal and political order". However …show more content…
Some in the military opposed this and eventually a coup occurred deposing the president who started the whole thing. This then led to a crisis where ultimately the country 's military had to intervene and cause severe damage to the integrity of their political system as a whole. It seems as though this real incident is supposed to show us how easy it could be to have our own country 's fate suffer from the same problem of divided government. Trying to compare a coup in Honduras to gridlock in Washington seems like a weak comparison. One of the main arguments Yglesias points out is how the military was forced to intervene causing all sorts of chaos. This example is supposed to show us a real life example of what can happen when political discourse reaches a breaking point, however in our governing system we have the Posse Comitatus Act, which prevents the federal government from using our conventional military branches to enforce the will of our federal government officials. It seems like in our political system performing any kind of coup would be extremely
Before reading this, I, like I am sure so many others, had no idea of the magnitude of injustices that can occur during these conflicts. Also, this was not very long ago, nor far away, and it speaks volumes of the differences in government ideology and politics. El Salvador is an extreme case of how a government will treat its citizens. Massacre at El Mozote truly was an eye-opener and I doubt I will soon forget it.
is worrisome for American democracy; however, such a state of affairs is not entirely new.
1. Janda, Kenneth. The Challenge of Democracy. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston, MA. 1999. (Chapter 3 & 4).
“We are part of the American family,” the president said. In order to be a part of this family, we cannot exclude its members from their freedom to speak and express their ideas. Dissent hinders those capabilities, and thus truly can be considered the cancer of democracy.
1) The U.S government let General Cedras and his cohorts "save face" by allowing the military junta to step down, after their parliament passed a general amnesty for the military. If this had not happened the U.S government would have had to oust the ruling party by using force, and this would have made the junta look bad.
Guatemala held democratic elections in 1944 and 1951, they resulted in leftist government groups holding power and rule of the country. Intervention from the United States and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) backed a more conservative military minded regime. A military coup took place in 1954 to over throw the elected government and install the rule of Carlos Castillo Armas. Carlos Armas was a military general before the coup and with the CIA orchestrated operation he was made President from July 8th 1954 until his assassination in 1957. Upon his assassination, similar militant minded presidents rose to power and continued to run the country. Due to the nature of military dictatorship, in 1960, social discontent began to give way to left wing militants made up of the Mayan indigenous people and rural peasantry. This is the match that lit Guatemala’s Civil War, street battles between the two groups tore the country and pressured the autocratic ruler General Miguel Ydigoras Fuentes to fight harder against the civilian insurrection. Similar to the government Abductions th...
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America's Future. Washington, DC: CQ, 2010. Print.
The article titled "The man with the snow job" appears in the Opinion Pages, The New York Times. Author, Gail Collins, opens her article with the question: “Who is to blame for this weather?” which hooks readers’ attention and makes them curious about what they are going to read. In her writing, Collins talks about the current snowstorm in the United States and how it is used for everyone’s advantage. She also points out how government officials such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Al Gore, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama use the occasion of snowfall for their own purposes. The author borrows images of global warming effects to discuss some controversial problems in the society these days. She applies the following elements to establish the sarcastic tone throughout her article: hyperbole, metaphor, and simile.
Democracy is rule by the people; the people elect governing officials based off of their personal values and beliefs. Different political parties rule the political scene and are serving to represent the people’s opinions in the best ways possible. Previously, I had a belief that my political view was essentially the only one possible and therefore it was the best. These views changed quickly once I learned the different political parties, their views, how they represent the people’s views, and how public opinion shapes politics. The government is formed around differentiating opinions on which policies should be in place and which social aspects need to be considered first. Not only is the government guided by opinion, but the people’s lives are guided by opinion as well. Each individual holds a different view, and each view can have an influence on society. Fortunately, after roughly eight weeks of studying American Government, I now have a better sense of complexity and the value of
Throughout the course of American History, the U.S. government has mostly shown to be a reliable and stable pillar during major events happening domestically and internationally. It has displayed leadership, tenacity, and perseverance when making important legislation that would change the lives of all citizens in the United States. However, during the latter half of the 20th century, the government has shown to be susceptible to partisanship. This has been displayed when it is presented with a dilemma regarding decision making; when a political group refuses to negotiate on an issue, the whole U.S. government shuts down. Based on the recent developments in politics, the legislative design of the federal government has been shown to be seriously flawed; only by changing its structure can we guard against the partisanship which prevents our representatives and senators from serving the will of the citizens of the United States through compromise.
Not only is it a form of governmental injustice but also a violation of human rights. If there isn’t a change in the rate of violence, the poverty rate will never decrease. Both civil wars had a huge impact on the poverty and violence rate due to the fact that the peace agreements tried to change everything from one day to another. Both countries had a violent political history, which led to half of there population being poor. the United States is to blame for all the that has happened in Central America. Many had to witness traumatic events but through the midst of it all find hope. Some died spreading awareness, while others were forced to become a soldier without a choice. As some killed, as others had no choice but to kill in order to save themselves. Poverty meant not always having the required utensils in order to survive. Having fresh water to drink without being in fear that the water will kill you. To having a simple iron to iron your school uniform when it gets wet. Men and women being violently abused, raped, harassed. All this can change with an increase in jobs. A decrease in violence means a decrease in poverty. Both countries are signed to a peace agreement which is an agreement to human
In two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf, Americans fought and died so that democracy would prevail around the world. In the minds of many Americans, America is the bastion of democracy. But how democratic is America? Today’s America was “born” with the signing of the constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, it was determined how democratic America would be. And every American should ask himself how democratic America was made at that constitutional convention in Philadelphia.
In Sherry Turkle’s, New York Times article, she appeals to ethos, logos and pathos to help highlight on the importance of having conversations. Through these rhetorical devices she expresses that despite the fact that we live in a society that is filled with communication we have managed to drift away from “face to face” conversations for online connection. Turkle supports her claims by first focusing on ethos as she points out her own experiences and data she has collected. She studied the mobile connection of technologies for 15 years as well as talked to several individuals about their lives and how technology has affected them. Sherry Turkle also shows sympathy towards readers by saying “I’ve learned that the little devices most of us carry
Hudson, William E. American Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to America’s Future – Fourth Edition. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.
A growing problem in America is its politics. Throughout history, with the formation of political parties the nation has become more divided, and has resulted in many gridlocks. How can a nation be successful when it is not even in accordance with each other? It can’t, hence, the reason why America is slowly losing its power and is starting to crumble. Recently, there was a gridlock on how the government should spend the nation’s budget. While the government shutdown was in session, many people could not work and did not get paid. Yet, Congress still got paid even though, they weren’t working. The injustices that lie in politics relate to an aristocracy. Less people trust the government because of all the disagreements and deceptions they are fed by politicians. Candidates running for political office positions always feed its citizens lies, and never accomplish the promises they make. This leads cynicism and a lower voter turnout. With less people going to vote, the wealthy and corrupt are taking the office positions and making the nation benefit themselves, rather than its citizens. If America’s own citizens don’t even trust the government, how do they expect...