Democracy is a Greek word meaning “rule by the people. ” The idea of a democratic government began in Greece in 700 B. C, about twenty-five hundred years ago. Rome was so large that not everyone could play a role in government so the Roman citizens elected representatives to speak and act for them. This form of government was called a republic. The United States has a representative form of government. The representatives make laws and rules for the country. The government should be rated at an 8 because it has some flaws but it is still decent. There are three branches of government in the United States representative democracy.
The legislative branch, makes the laws for the country and creates agencies and programs. The judicial branch makes the laws and determines if the acts of congress are constitutional or unconstitutional. The executive branch carries out the laws making it the most important branch of the United States government. The Judicial Branch in the United States, unlike most national Judicial systems, yields great political power and must be counted as part of the American Political system. Someone or some group must go to the court first; the court does not take the initiative.
The Judicial Branch is a system of courts that manage court cases at all levels including federal, state, and local. Federal cases have a higher penalty under conviction. Judges of Federal court cases are both strict and just. If found guilty in a federal court one must face sentencing to a variety of punishments. Punishments include the death penalty and prison sentencing. “The Judiciary is the safeguard of our liberty and of our property under the constitution”. This quote is a good description of the judicial branch and courts. The Judiciary is a safeguard of our liberty because it governs the court system, which keeps society in line.
The goal of the Judicial branch is to hold people accountable for crimes and keep justice in the land. This goal is being reached for the most part. Those who commit crimes are brought to trial. The court system is responsible for many duties of justice. Courts make the world a safer place. The Judicial Branch is made up of 3 types of courts: The Supreme Court, U. S. court of appeals and district courts consist of nine justices, are appointed by the President with consent of the Senate. These nine justices serve without any type of time limitations. The U. S. Court of Appeals deals with appealing cases of lower courts.
Lastly, district courts, which are more locally based, deal with local issues and crimes. The Judicial Branch of government both interprets and enforces the laws. It interprets the laws by holding court cases that find the significance of what is happening. The Judicial Branch enforces the laws by holding trials to convict those that oppose them. Opposing the laws and defying the courts is done everyday even if it may be foolish. The Court system is usually fair in their rulings, thus making them honest and just. In government the Judicial Branch is very important. Having a system of courts is absolutely necessary to hold a civilized nation.
The Federal appeals court in San Francisco overturned a “3 strikes sentence” in November 2001 of a 50 years to life sentence of a California shoplifter. A law had been challenged on constitutional grounds. A panel of three judges listened to the appeal and made a 2-1 decision that the 3 strikes sentence was cruel. This is one example of the power of the Judiciary branch (Lane, 2001). The Supreme Court of Virginia repealed the state’s 49-year-old ban on burning crosses. Cross burning is allowed because it is a way of expression and is protected by the first amendment.
It was a four to three decision that stated that the 1952 statute was unfair to a symbol and viewpoint and overturned the convictions of a Klu Klux Klan leader and two other men who were charged in two incidents in 1998 (Brooke A. , 2001). In my opinion, Americans should not be allowed to burn crosses because it is a symbol of disrespect for those religions that praise the cross. On October 26, 2001, the basement mailroom of the Supreme Court tested positive for Anthrax. An institution that likes to stay out of the headlines suddenly became frontpage news.
Chief Judge Rehnquist, who has kept arguments on track when the rest of Washington has shut down for blizzards, never considered cancelling last weeks hearings. ” While some branches of government closed down, the Supreme Court decided to keep working and deserves high scores for this decision. The judicial branch is extremely powerful and is a force to be reckoned with. If one were to oppose this branch of government it would be truly foolish. Going against the supreme, state or local court system is discouraged among Americans because of its strong penalties. Overall the judiciary branch does a fairly good job of keeping things in order.
The rating for this branch of government should be a 7. The Legislative division of government debates primarily over policy. They debate about which policy to adopt and the best way to turn it into a law. This debate may occur in a special body designed for this sole purpose- a legislature, congress, parliament, or council of advisors. Whatever the forum the debate is influenced by forces of society as a whole. Even the most powerful dictator can’t make decrees that directly strike at powerful forces that can effectively oppose him. The bureaucracy and the masses also can’t be ignored.
Within each of these general groups, special interest groups must also be taken into consideration. In a public debate within a legislature, these interest groups will usually speak for themselves directly or have elected representatives speak for them. An open process of compromise and conciliation usually tells the way of the resulting laws. In less democratic systems, the debate may turn to strategy: how to do something by dividing, immobilizing, or handling potential opposition. On Thursday the 18th 2001 all representatives of the house were sent home from capitol hill. Thursday’s retreat was for testing of the facility for anthrax.
Anthrax can be (most commonly lately) mail-born. Anthrax is a very dangerous mold that needs to be taken care of properly. People shouldn’t be afraid to live everyday life. This behavior has not become an epidemic so people should be bold and have faith in their country’s military and filtering capabilities. This type of terrorist (or whoever may be held accountable) attack is very cowardice and out of line. The people that did or are doing this should definitely be held accountable and given a trial. In the near future hopefully this country will see a change in people’s (the majority) attitude towards feeble attempts to break our country.
Currently, the House is trying to decide on whether baggage screeners at the nations airports should be on the federal payroll. The Senate thought this was a good idea and voted unanimously to federalize some 28,000 luggage screeners. This was something that polls showed the American people thought was a good idea. The House decided to kill the bill complaining that it would expand federal government too much and create more bureaucracy. The House and Senate even though they need to work together to beat a common enemy need to stop fighting with each other. Also, the Senate was not listening to what the people wanted.
They get rated poorly for not working together on this issue. The executive branch of government is the branch that enforces the laws. The U. S. president is the head of the executive branch. The states themselves divide work of government in a similar way, having the governer as executive. Terrorists are trying to obtain nuclear weaponry. Some of the German military forces have been deployed to fight terrorism. They are trying to obtain weapons that “would be a threat to every nation and, eventually, to civilization itself” President Bush states.
Also we have many countries on our side (the U. S. hat are providing military support. Terrorists are being very foolish in this instance. Terrorists probably wouldn’t be able to get nuclear weapons if they tried much less be able to house them. Nuclear weapons are extremely hard to maintain and are very unstable. They wouldn’t be able to afford nor have the expertise to hold nukes. These outcasts are largely outnumbered and should back down promptly. This article affects mostly the executive branch. The executive branch of government has to make decisions upon this type instance. The executive branch of the U. S. must do whatever it takes to keep nuclear weapons out of harms way.
This type of event has a serious impact on the executive branch. If nuclear weapons ever did happen to get into terrorist hands the result could be catastrophic. Also in the event of terrorists actually obtaining weapons of mass destruction the executive branch would be tied in knots trying to destroy them. The events of this article also affect the executive branch in a negative way. When something like this happens the executive branch has to keep the people of this country calm and under control. The decision making process that this branch takes in this time of crisis is very crucial to the effects of humanity.
If the country gets out of control the executive branch has to keep catastrophe from occuring by using its TV and news priveleges. One of the roles of the president as leader of the executive branch is to assure the American people tha they are safe. Many Americans are afraid to fly in recent months as a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. ABC News reports that because of the huge decline in air travel following the September 11 terrorist attacks, the number of passengers flying this year will be less than last year according to the Air Transit Association, the trade group for the major airlines.
Th e president has decided to expand the National Guards role at airports to protect the American people, especially during the busy Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season. During a poll, many Americans thought this would be the most likely time for a terrorist attack. He is trying very hard to protect people from further terrorist atttacks by telling airlines they need to improve security. One way of doing this is to make cockpit doors stronger so terrorists can’t get in and kill the pilots.
He is also trying to encourage people to fly because that would help stimulate the economy. Two months after the September 11th attack the president returned to the ruins of the World Trade Centers in New York City. Amid the still smoking rubble he asked Americans to remember “the terrible harm that an enemy can inflict. ” He also wanted to remind people of the sacrifices the military are now making. As the leader of the Executive Branch he is in charge of the military, air and navy units that are now at war in Afghanistan.
It is his job to thank them and make the American people aware of the good job they are doing. In his Homeland Address on November 8, he again praised the soldiers fighting the war against terrorism and received a standing ovation from the people in the audience. He also told the Ameican people that we are a strong nation and will defeat this international enemy of humanity. He is doing a good job letting the American people know what is going on, even though he can’t tell them everything because he would risk telling the enemy too much.
The president is also travelling all around the world trying to get allies in the war against terrorism. One of his strongest supporters is British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He has also travelled to Africa and China to gather support for the war effort. Also he has invited many leaders to come to the the White House to talk and visit him. He needs to enlist countries all over the world because he knows he will need much help to win the war. He is trying very hard to get other countries to see things from our point of view.