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The role of the media in politics
The role the media plays in election essay
The role of the media in politics
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As it turns out, Alexis de Tocqueville had a great many ideas and views on the different aspects of democracy in America. Everything from political parties in the United States to freedom of the press and the principal causes of maintaining a Democratic Republic were on the table for discussion. It must have been quite shocking for the American of the time to read Democracy in America after it was translated. Tocqueville had many opinionated views that directly clashed with the ideals of the typical American’s feelings of exceptionalism. Though not every thought he expressed issued concern, many of his observations call and the question the intricate workings of democratic America. “A great division must be made between parties. Some countries …show more content…
The freedom of the press is a central component of American democracy and in fact no citizens of the United States had at that point opposed the level of liberty given to free speech. A person could write whatever they felt like, whether it highly criticized the president or it was just an opinion. The level of freedom that the press exhibited caused some turmoil in the form of adversely affecting people who wrote articles and how the public perceived them. In some situations, it could be dangerous. “It cannot be denied that the effects of this extreme license of the press tend indirectly to the maintenance of public order. The individuals who are already in possession of a high station in the esteem of their fellow-citizens, are afraid to write in the newspapers, and they are thus deprived of the most powerful instrument which they can use excite the passions of the multitude to their own advantage” (Tocqueville 2007, p. 152). Men were afraid of the reaction of their fellow man to their exposed …show more content…
Centralized government has a limited range of reach. The possibility of a tyrannical majority is also limited to the reach of the centralized government and as a result, the majority does not carry the administrative power to impose its convictions everywhere. Lawyers possess an almost aristocratic demeanor, and along with judges, they help temper the democratic government through the court system. The problem here though is that the laws that limit the power of the judicial branch and the frequency with which judges, being elected officials, are subjected to reelection is a direct danger to democracy. The efficiency of a jury is also called into question. The process of being a juror instilled good mores and to the populace. These particular mores helped to establish and maintain a lawful and just
In today’s society, American citizens tend to believe that America has been, “American” since the day that Christopher Columbus set foot in the Bahamas. This is a myth that has been in our society for a multitude of years now. In A New England Town by Kenneth A. Lockridge, he proves that America was not always democratic. Additionally, he proves that America has not always been “American”, by presenting the town of Dedham in 1635. Lockridge presents this town through the course of over one hundred years, in that time many changes happened as it made its way to a type of democracy.
In the Supreme Court case of the New York Times Co. vs. United States there is a power struggle. This struggle includes the entities of the individual freedoms against the interests of federal government. It is well known that the first amendment protects the freedom of speech, but to what extent does this freedom exist. There have been instances in which speech has been limited; Schenck vs. United States(1919) was the landmark case which instituted such limitations due to circumstances of “clear and present danger”. Many have noted that the press serves as an overseer which both apprehends and guides national agenda. However, if the federal government possessed the ability to censor the press would the government restrain itself? In the case of the Pentagon Papers the necessities of individual freedoms supersedes the scope of the national government.
Tocqueville was a Frenchman who was interested in America and its democratic design. He spoke of his observations about America in his book, Democracy in America. Tocqueville’s attitudes towards Americans seem to be very appreciative. He saw democracy as a perfect balance between freedom and equality. Yet, while he is appreciative, he is also quite critical of some of the effects of democracy in America. Tocqueville believed that there were some faults with democracy and states them in his book.
Tocqueville, a foreigner, came to the United States to study American prison reform, but was so disgusted with the way our society was and how our government functioned under Jackson that he changed the focus of his study to an analysis of democracy. He saw democracy by our example as “far from accomplishing all it projects with skill” and that “Democracy does not give people the most skillful government.” Jackson’s example of democracy was horrible.
For both Tocqueville in his “Democracy in America” and Locke in his “Second Treatise of Civil Government”, liberty holds a place of paramount importance in the pantheon of political values, specifically those in relation to democratic and republican systems (though Locke does not explicitly demand a republic as Tocqueville does) . From Tocqueville’s belief in the supremacy of liberty over equality , to Locke’s inclusion and conflation of liberty with property and life itself in his natural rights , liberty plays the crucial role of linchpin in both author’s political philosophy. Though this belief in the centrality of liberty is found in both Tocqueville and Locke, they each derivate liberty from fundamentally disparate sources, and thus hold
“When a country does experience major conflict, such as civil wars or major regime-challenging protests, press freedoms are more closely associated with nonviolent conflict compared to violent conflict” (Why Freedom of Speech Matters). Freedom of expression gives people the chance to speak out toward their government, and express their issues. This makes it simpler for the government to respond to them, decreasing the risk of violence. “I found that when comparing instances of major nonviolent conflict (think Tunisia protests during Arab Spring) and violent conflict (think Syrian civil war), higher levels of press freedoms were strong predictors of nonviolent conflict over violent conflict” (Why Freedom of Speech Matters). With this in mind, there could be more violence toward the government or between the people of the United states, if freedom of expression did not exist.
But roughly a century later a change in this mindset was given evidence by the French nobleman Alexis de Tocqueville’s sociopolitical work, Democracy in America, which identified the need for and unavoidability of the abolition of slavery and that it was America’s greed that was keeping this from happening. Both Wheatley and Tocqueville show the changing view of slaves and slavery in America within a
In this excerpt from Democracy in America Alexis Tocqueville expresses his sentiments about the United States democratic government. Tocqueville believes the government's nature exists in the absolute supremacy of the majority, meaning that those citizens of the United States who are of legal age control legislation passed by the government. However, the power of the majority can exceed its limits. Tocqueville believed that the United States was a land of equality, liberty, and political wisdom. He considered it be a land where the government only served as the voice of the its citizens. He compares the government of the US to that of European systems. To him, European governments were still constricted by aristocratic privilege, the people had no hand in the formation of their government, let alone, there every day lives. He held up the American system as a successful model of what aristocratic European systems would inevitably become, systems of democracy and social equality. Although he held the American democratic system in high regards, he did have his concerns about the systems shortcomings. Tocqueville feared that the virtues he honored, such as creativity, freedom, civic participation, and taste, would be endangered by "the tyranny of the majority." In the United States the majority rules, but whose their to rule the majority. Tocqueville believed that the majority, with its unlimited power, would unavoidably turn into a tyranny. He felt that the moral beliefs of the majority would interfere with the quality of the elected legislators. The idea was that in a great number of men there was more intelligence, than in one individual, thus lacking quality in legislation. Another disadvantage of the majority was that the interests of the majority always were preferred to that of the minority. Therefore, giving the minority no chance to voice concerns.
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Coates, R. E. (1995-99). Freedom of the Press . Retrieved November 12, 2010, from http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/quotations/jeff1600.htm
The American Court System is an important part of American history and one of the many assets that makes America stand out from other countries. It thrives for justice through its structured and organized court systems. The structures and organizations are widely influenced by both the State and U.S Constitution. The courts have important characters that used their knowledge and roles to aim for equality and justice. These court systems have been influenced since the beginning of the United State of America. Today, these systems and law continue to change and adapt in order to keep and protect the peoples’ rights.
America over time has adopted and organized 27 amendments to regulate people’s actions as legal or illegal. The word “amend” literally means to change; therefore, the government is based off of amended rules and changes. Without activists, it is likely that America’s government would not have been amended to the ideals society follows today. However, these activists make it difficult to establish a national character without conflict. In the Stranger, Meursault becomes momentarily agitated with his lawyer saying, “He didn’t understand me, and he was sort of holding it against me. I felt the urge to reassure him that I was like everybody else, just like everybody else” (Camus 66). Meursault briefly feels pressured to conform; his lawyer persuades him to abandon his own ideas to better the outcome of his trial. Since the 1950s cultures have become accustomed to mass media and mainstream middle class, encouraging conformity. Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America, wrote, "I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America” (Barone). Tocqueville utilizes a negative connotation to emphasize his support for individualism over conformity. Supported by the first amendment, the freedom of speech is given to all American citizens; however, conformist ideals have oppressed individuals for many years. Americans are afraid to speak their mind or stand out, because they are condemned for it. Barone characterizes America by saying, “not only did insistence on a strict self-reliance soften as the 20th century progressed, but many came to fear our rugged individualism was melting into a mediocre conformity.” It is important for society and the individual that the focus transitions back to individual freedom so America, once a great prospering nation, is not characterized as “mediocre” in every day society.
Dahl conducted his study on the decision making of the Supreme Court and whether the Court exercised its power of judicial review to counter majority will and protect minority rights or if it used the power to ratify the further preferences of the dominant “national law making majority.” From the results of Dahl’s study he builds numerous arguments throughout his article, “Decision-Making in a Democracy: the Supreme Court as a National Policy-Maker”. In what follows, I will thoroughly point out and explain each of the arguments that Dahl constructs in his article.
Americans look to the press to provide the information they need to make informed political choices. How well the press lives up to its responsibility to provide this information has a direct impact upon Americans: how they think about and act upon the issues that confront them.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, and Donald A. Cress. The "On Democracy" - "The 'Republican'" Basic Political Writings. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1987. 179-80.