POL 166
Professor Murdaco
December 12, 2015
Joan Callahan

Assignment # 10

Choose a passage from this weeks assigned readings and explain the meaning of the passage and why you chose this passage.


Taken from The Logic of Collective Action, by Mancur Olson, 1971

        The casual variant of the theory assumed a propensity to belong to groups without drawing
any distinctions between groups of different size. Though the more sophisticated variant may be credited with drawing a distinction between those functions that can best be served by small groups
and those that can best be served by large associations, it nonetheless assumes that, when there is a need for a large association, a large association will tend to emerge and attract members, just as a small group will when there is a need for a small group. Thus in so far as the traditional theory draws any distinction at all between small and large groups, it is apparently with respect to the scale of the functions they perform, not the extent they succeed in performing these functions or their capacity to attract members. It assumes that small and large groups differ in degree, but not in kind.


       This passage discusses the casual variant of the theory of group participation as an instinctual need to belong as opposed to the formal variant which is that individuals need to be coerced into participation. I subscribe to the former in that we are, as individuals drawn to a group to fulfill our own intrinsic need to be apart of a group along with the passion towards a cause or goal. The size of the group, I do believe matters because smaller groups do have a more free flowing exchange due to a more narrow focus of needs. I have seen that when smaller groups have reached their limit due to the small number of participants they reach out to become members of larger associations because there is strength in numbers. The dynamics change within larger associations and coercion becomes more necessary to due the detachment that occurs among individuals in larger groups.When this occurs the smaller group must embrace the overall ideology of the association and quite possibly abandon some of their own goals to reach the goals for the sake of the greater good. I chose this passage because there is a combination of both the casual and formal  variants within both small and large groups but if a distinction must be made their is a stronger  prevalence of instinctual need in small groups and  coercion more prevalent in large groups.

POL 166
Prof. Murdaco
December 05, 2015
Joan Callahan
Assignment # 9

Choose a passage from one of the posted readings and explain how the decision was made and why you chose it and why you believe this case is important.


Brown V Board of Education 1953-1954

Despite the equalization of the school by "objective" factors, intangible issues foster and maintain inequality. Racial segregation in public education has a detrimental effect on minority children because it is interpreted as a sign of inferiority. the long-held doctrine that separate facilities were permissible provided they were equal was rejected. Separate but equal is inherently unequal in the context of public education. the unanimous opinion sounded the death-knell for all forms of state-maintained racial separation.


"Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1)." Oyez. Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech, n.d. Dec 5, 2015. <https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483> 

I chose this passage because it changed the cultural outlook for the entire country.  This decision paved the way for the Civil Rights movement.  Although we still struggle as a country  with disparity and inequality among our many races and cultures, this decision allowed for the enforcement of these civil rights for all. We can see the forward momentum, albeit slow momentum, toward embracing the many cultures of our countries inhabitants. We have seen the rights of minorities which include race, sex, age, and sexual preference come to the forefront of our Judicial system and triumph over discrimination and adversity. We still have a long way to go in ensuring that every inhabitant of this country is afforded equal rights but we are on the right path.  

POL 166
Prof. Murdaco
November 21, 2015
Assignment #8

For this assignment, choose a paragraph from the assigned readings and write a paragraph explaining your choice.


Taken from the Ronald Reagan Inaugural Address

"We have every right to dream heroic dreams. Those who say that we're in a time when there are not heroes, they just don't know where to look. You can see heroes every day going in and out of factory gates. Others, a handful in number, produce enough food to feed all of us and then the world beyond. You meet heroes across a counter, and they're on both sides of that counter. There are entrepreneurs with faith in themselves and faith in an idea who create new jobs, new wealth and opportunity. They're individuals and families whose taxes support the government and whose voluntary gifts support church, charity, culture, art, and education. Their patriotism is quiet, but deep. Their values sustain our national life."

I chose this paragraph because it shows the tactics used in the politics to get the American people to buy into the process by bolstering there confidence and tugging on the strings of their patriotism. The American people, when looking to our political leaders, need to see themselves reflected in the proposed changes that will come about if they are to buy into them. Reagan states " you can see heros every day going in and out of factory gates" and "Their patriotism is quiet, but deep" is meant to stir the emotions of those who have already committed to the change and convince those who have their doubts. The last sentence of the paragraph could translate for the individual, into My values sustain our national life, which is quite powerful. Manipulation is very effective if the target of the manipulation is left feeling powerful and respected.

POL 166

Prof. Murdaco

October 31, 2015

Assignment # 5

Choose a paragraph from one of the reading assignments and explain why you chose that paragraph

               

From A Lecture On The Anti-Slavery Movement, 1855

“Past organizations may perish, but the cause will go on. That cause has a life, distinct and independent of the organizations patched up from time to time to carry it forward. Looked at apart from the bones and sinews, and body, it’s a thing immortal. It is the very essence of justice, liberty and love. The moral life of human society – it cannot die, while conscience, honor and humanity remain. If but one be filled with it, the cause lives…If there be but one such man in the land, no matter what becomes of abolition societies and parties, there will be an anti – slavery cause, and an anti – slavery movement…”

I chose this paragraph because it exhibits Douglas’ dedication to the end of slavery. Douglas, to a gathering of what might have appeared to be like-minded individuals, Douglas challenges the audience to re-evaluate the methods in which the “four principal divisions.” are operating towards the goal of emancipation.  Douglas states that these four branches all claim to be working toward anti-slavery but their ultimate end result would not rid the country of slavery and might diminish the current organizations. Douglas discusses the power of the anti-slavery movement and the unmistakable momentum that has taken over as the movement has grown. This type of momentum has since been replicated in such modern day movements as the Gay Rights and Black Lives Matter movements. Once a particular issue has engaged a large enough number of the population it becomes an entity with a life all it’s own. The movement then must be addressed because of the number of people pushing for the change, whether in the community, State or Nation.

Prof. Murdaco
POL 166
October 10, 2015
Joan Callahan
Assignment #4

Choose one of the authors from the New York Times article and choose a quote from one of these authors. Write out the quote and the meaning of it, and explain why you chose this quote.

Revisiting the Constitution: Do Away With the Electoral College, by Alexander Keyssar 

I chose this article because it talks about the way in which the voting process eliminates the majority of the American voting population. The constitution is considered a breathing document because it must keep up with the changing culture of the country if it is to be effective in its original intention. The constitution states "We the People" as a reflection of all the people not some of the people. I feel that the American public, not the Electoral College, should decide who our president will be. In the New York Times article titled, Room for Debate, Revisiting the Constitution, Do Away With the Electoral College, by Alexander Keyssar, he states " Indeed, if we were drafting a constitution today, few people would even consider a presidential electoral system like the Electoral College."  We would see the imbalance of power in the current electoral process. The views and concerns of a few are being forced on the American public . If the popular votes were tabulated instead of the electoral college votes there would be a more comprehensive reflection of the American people. The consensus right now among many is that an individuals vote does not have an impact on the outcome of the election. What impact would the popular vote have on voter turnout. I believe that many more Americans would show up at the polls if the popular vote were the deciding factor. This act alone could restore faith in the Governmental process of the American people, moving us all toward a more unified country.

Prof. Murdaco
POL 166
October 3,2015
Joan Callahan
Assignment #3




From the Declaration of Independence: A Transcription


For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences...In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.


In this text the discussion is centered around the 13 United States fighting for their freedom from the tyrannical oppression of England. The founders of the colonies fled England so they could practice their religion without persecution.  The British Kingdom, however would not allow these early American settlers to escape the tight grip of the British Government.  It states that other means of resolution were attempted but England would not be accommodating to any such requests and their power in the region was such that The 13 States were at the mercy of the British government who restricted their ability to engage in trade with others and imposed unfair taxes upon them. Many of the citezens were transported back to England to be tried for fictitious crimes. All in an effort to thwart their progress as an independent entity.


I chose this text because it highlights the struggles of the early settlers of the United States of America in establishing their independence as a free nation. At this point in history, there was no free nation and England stood to lose a great deal if these settlers were able to set an example for future  people of British rule to follow. By making it difficult for the United States to establish its own nation of free people, The British government was protecting its self from  an exodus of those in search of their own freedom from tyranny.

Prof. Murdaco
POL 166
September 26, 2015
Joan Callahan

Assignment #2

Select a paragraph from one of this weeks reading and write a paragraph describing the meaning of your selected paragraph. Write another paragraph explaining why you chose that paragraph.

I selected an excerpt from Trans-National America; by Randolph Bourne, Published in Atlantic Monthly, 118 (July 1916)

It is just this English-American conservatism that has been our chief obstacle to social advance. We have needed the new peoples--the order of the German and Scandinavian,, the turbulence of the Slav and Hun--to save us from our own stagnation. I do not mean that the illiterate Slav is now equal of the New Englander of pure descent. He is raw material to be educated, not into a New Englander, but into a socialized American along such lines as those thirty nationalities are being educated in the amazing schools of Gary. I do not believe that this process is to be one of decades of evolution. The spectacle of Japan's sudden jump from mediaevalism to post-modernism should have destroyed that superstition. We are not dealing with individuals who are to "evolve". We are dealing with their children, who, with that education we are about to have, will start level with all of us. Let us cease to think of ideals like democracy as magical qualities inherent in certain peoples.  Let us speak, not of inferior races, but of inferior civilizations. We are all to educate and be to be educated. these peoples in America are in a common enterprise. It is not what we are now that concerns us, but what this plastic next generation may become in the light of a new cosmopolitan ideal.


The era of the great War found America at a point in history when, more than ever, the immigration of Germans, Slavs, and Huns was having an impact on the country's ability to maintain its conservatism.  Bourne  writes about the expectations of the American people for the newly immigrating people to assimilate to the country's established moral and ethnic culture completely. Bourne explores the value in having both the immigrants and the Americans to jointly assimilate each others strengths and values, thereby enriching and progressing the forward movement of the country as a whole. Bourne states "we have needed the new peoples--the order of the German and Scandinavian, the turbulence of the Slav and Hun--to save us from our own stagnation". (Bourne; Trans-National America, Atlantic Monthly) The "amazing schools in Gary"  he talks about were a  work-study system that could be compared to modern day trade and technology schools that teach education and work related skills. Bourne speaks of the importance of education in the assimilation process with the ultimate goal being the education of the children of the immigrants to become socialized Americans rather than New Englanders. Bourne also encourages Americans to look at these educated children as starting "level with all of us." and view civilizations as inferior rather than individual races.

POL 166
Prof.Murdaco
Date: September 19, 2015

Assignment #1
choose a specific passage from one of today's readings. Write out the passage, then underneath write a short paragraph explaining the meaning of the passage you chose. Under that write another paragraph explaining what made you choose this passage and why you think it is important. 

Passage from; 

Despite Negativity, Americans Mixed on Ideal Role of Gov't, by Frank Newport

Partisan views about government power are highly dependent on which party controls government, and on the political and social environment at the time of the survey. At this point, 77% of Republicans say the government has too much power, compared with 63% of independents and 32% of Democrats -- which reflects the current Republican position that there is too much government spending and power in domestic and economic affairs.However, when George W. Bush was president, Democrats were more concerned than Republicans about government power. In Gallup's September 2005 Governance survey, for example, 55% of Democrats said the government had too much power, compared with 50% of independents and 41% of Republicans. At that point, Democrats were almost certainly interpreting this question in terms of government anti-terrorism actions taken after 9/11, including the Patriot Act.

This passage reflects the partisan reaction to the controlling government party based on their individual party preference. If the political party that you have aligned with is in power, you are less likely to be concerned about governmental power because you share the same ideology. If an individual is aligned with an opposing party their fears of government power are heightened because their ideology is not represented. Political power is at its strongest point when a particular party is at the helm of Government decision making. The impact that current social environment has on the political climate is huge. The issues of  the economy, unemployment, immigration and housing to name a few, will determine the political climate due to the direct impact these issues have on the general public.

I chose this passage because it outlines the changing political climate based on the party in power and the impact of the social environment on policy change.If the general public is struggling to find work and feed their family, the issue of immigration may make individuals feel threatened by the idea of more people competing for employment and the depletion of resources. These fears are largely exploited by the political party seeking to gain control of the government through rhetoric.  Issues that are current and have the potential to create fear are used to create this rhetoric.