Word Count: 1127A social order. A persons beliefs and values that allowthem to make the choices that to have the type ofgovernment they want. My social order- one of anAfrican-American, 17-year-old, low middle-class female-will differ widely from my mothers, or Shemairs, or evenyour social order.
For instance, I strongly value education. So does my mother, Shemair, and I am sure you do, too. My mother might value my education because it will helpher later on in life. Shemair might value my educationbecause it means that we will be able to move out aftergraduation. You as my teacher, will value my educationbecause it proves that your education was good and yourlife as a teacher is worthwhile.
I value my education for thesake of getting knowledge. Everyone might have the samevalue and yet they will have different reasons for valuing it. The same is true of our political values. People might wanta strong government because of the type of social orderthat they hold. The government maintains my personal and political socialorder. The government allows me to vote for people whohave the same purposes as I do.
Representatives who fallinto my political social order are the ones who will get myvote as I get older. For instance – the issue of abortion. Iam strongly against abortion for any reason at any time. When it comes time to vote for people to be a part of mystate government, I am going to choose someone whobelieves that killing at any stage in life is immoral. This way,through elections, I will have the ability to participate in thegovernment.
I will have someone who protects individualrights, thus maintaining my social order, and keep thegovernment holding the same ideas as me. The principle of our democratic government will allow me to express myindividualism. My personal liberty will be established because the governmentprotects our interacting values that we hold. Another value that we have isthe idea of equality of opportunity. This fact is evident in the decision to haveaffirmative action used in places such as colleges, universities, and jobs.
Ibelieve 100% that affirmative action is good and justifiable. I will vote forsomeone who pushes for affirmative action in the state of Florida. My socialorder clearly shows that I want someone who favors post-secondaryeducation, especially for minorities. Also, the idea of majority rule will beupheld in all of the elections that we hold. This way I can have free expressionin my personal life, as well as in the political arena.
The reason why I will beprotected is that our government says that all elections are to be free and fair. Structures of DemocracyAnother important idea is having certain limits on ourgovernment. There are certain structures that areestablished to control all three branches of government. The idea of federalism shows that the governments poweris set up into two parts, the state and national government. There is the concept of separation of power, which statesthat each branch is given certain powers: the legislativebranch makes the laws, the executive branch applies thelaws, and the judiciary branch interprets the laws.
Also, theidea of checks and balances were set up to allow onebranch of the government the power to set up limitations onthe other branches. Another way that the government iscontrolled is by means of limited government. The power ofour government right now is not absolute. This is aprotection that is set up in the Constitution to ensure thatthe government does not get too powerful.
A few more important changes that need to be noted arethe amendments to the Constitution. These Amendmentshave helped to extend civil liberties, These amendmentsshow what the power of judicial review has done foreveryone in the country, and not just for the peopleinvolved. The first, and most important one (at least to me),is Amendment # 13, which abolished slavery. If thisamendment was not established, I would probably besomeones mistress or cooking someones dinner ratherthan learning about how and why slavery was abolished. Next is Amendment # 19, which gave women the right tovote.
Even though black men were given the right to vote in1870, if this amendment wasnt passed in 1920, I stillwouldnt have a voice in governmental affairs. The lastamendment that has helped not only me, but also all of yourclasses is Amendment # 26, which gave 18-year-olds theright
