My Mom’s Answers.
What does the second amendment mean to you?
The second amendment: As a woman and a mother I never want to live without the right to protect myself. As a woman, the only way, the best way, I can protect myself, honestly, is with a firearm. I love shooting, I love the ability to hunt. But overall, I want to be safe. The 2nd amendment is quintessential to my freedom.
James Madison disliked the idea of political parties because he saw them as factions that can pull apart the republic. Do you agree?
When James Madison said this, I would probably have agreed. The US was smaller. Now we are large and people are busy and not involved in politics. If we rely on every American to look at every issue and every candidate – they wont. I don’t like the party system, but I don’t know a better way. We need a way for citizens to get the outcome they desire without the work or investigation. I hate that, but it’s the truth. So yeah, I guess I agree.
What does the 14th amendment mean to you?
Honestly, I had to look this one up – bottom line I hate his amendment. The header is giving Africans citizenship. under that they (the people in the government) added lines that had nothing to do with that. Barring ex confederate sympathizers from holding office – ok, fine, but why didn’t they make that stand alone? Why the part about debt? No, this was a compromise. Compromises should NEVER be part of the constitution.
Should the government hold big media accountable?
No. As a libertarian, I don’t want the federal government doing anything other than defend me internationally.
What state do you think is the most racist?
There is not a racist state, there are only stupid individuals. You want to talk about what states have the most racially centered laws? That’s a different question.
My Thoughts From My Mom.
I sympathize with her opinions and thoughts about the second amendment. I believe that our right to defend ourselves is extremely valuable to our well-being. I liked how she looked at all other options and saw firearms as the best way to defend. It’s not just because firearms are better, but I think a lot of people misunderstand the fact that the second amendment is not all about guns.
I agree on how she mentioned that most Americans won’t spend time to look at and decide on candidates and issues and the fact we are now a much bigger nation than before. Although neither of us like the party system, I would still reluctantly disagree with Madison with his thought of parties pulling apart our nation. I don’t see how political parties could be the cause. I would rather think that it’s our human nature that would cause division in our nation.
I think her view of the 14th amendment puts an interesting new perspective. Just after observing this, I could easily see how the 14th amendment was compromised to get everyone’s support and potentially undermining the legitimacy of the freed African Americans. Unfortunately, much of U.S history involved tons of compromising with other states. Like for example, how African Americans would be counted as three-fifths of their total population to get the north and south to agree and ratify the constitution. When tensions arose between the north and south, even more compromises were made like the Missouri and 1850 compromises. Compromises are good but most are good only for a short amount of time.
I would also agree with her on her point about the government controlling the media. I would take it a step further by arguing that our freedom to share thoughts would be limited. I also think that we should start educating ourselves on being familiar with media bias.
She makes a good point on how individuals are the problem and not the state. I will agree with her.
My Dad’s Answers.
What does the second amendment mean to you?
It gives the governed people the same weapons and the governed. I think that is fair
James Madison disliked the idea of political parties because he saw them as factions that can pull apart the republic. Do you agree?
I agree. At the time he was looking for a way to unify the government to make it more stable in the future.
What does the 14th amendment mean to you?
To me the 14 amendment means an increase of federal powers over conquered states under the guise of benevolence.
Should the government hold big media accountable?
No. First amendment is for all.
What state do you think is the most racist?
Super loaded question, but honestly – Hawaii.
My thoughts From My Dad.
I liked how he kept his definition of the second amendment simple. He also pictures it as a balance between the citizens and the government. Nothing else too complicated added on to the second amendment as I think it should be and is.
I agree that Madison was trying to look for the best way to keep this nation stable as long as possible. However, I would still disagree on the idea that political parties would pull apart the nation. Again, referring to what I said before, it’s our human nature that causes it.
He makes a good point about the federal government increasing its power and control over conquered states. Historically, this is what people that win the war have done. For example, when the allies defeated Germany and the central powers, Germany had been negatively impacted by the treaty that the allies have agreed on.
What he said about the first amendment being for all, I totally agree. I believe the first amendment is very important to us. It’s the right to free speech. With the media involved, we can’t close this pandora’s box they have opened.
Yes, I definitely agree with him that Hawaii is the most racist state. The weather in Hawaii is very discriminatory to people with white skin.
Dr. R’s Answers
What does the second amendment mean to you?
The second amendment protects Americans right to own and bear arms, and to form and operate well regulate militaries. While the latter is rarely used any more, it was created to ensure that the power of democracy remained in the “peoples” hands and to protect from tyrannical government.
James Madison disliked the idea of political parties because he saw them as factions that can pull apart the republic. Do you agree?
Political parties are a good thing because they bring like-minded people together. Where they become an issue is when there are only 2 parties dominating a country as diverse as America. The United Kingdom has hundreds of political parties. And while it would be very difficult to change this deep-rooted issue in America, it would help create unity by getting rid of the “us vs them” mindset in America.
What does the 14th amendment mean to you?
The 14th amendment is important because it ensures a state can’t make and enforce laws above that of the federal government. Among other things
Should the government hold big media accountable?
No, the government should not hold media outlets accountable. They have the right to free speech. People should get their news from diverse sources and stop watching news sources that are un-credible and spread misinformation. But the government should never censor the media.
What state do you think is the most racist?
No state is “racist.” Bad people live everywhere, and good people live everywhere. There is plenty of racism in the most liberal states as well as the most conservative. While it is certainly a deep-seated problem in America, I don’t believe racism is as prevalent as modern media leads you to believe.
My Thoughts From Dr. R.
He is right about what the second amendment was made for. To protect the people from tyranny. It can be used to protect us personally or on a larger scale.
I will agree with him that political parties do bring like-minded people together. I also dislike how there are only two parties in our country that make all the politics and decisions. I would support for more political diversity. However, I would also argue that in places like the U.K or Ireland where there are multiple parties, a lot of people don’t necessarily get what they want. In fact, parties would form coalitions to combat the wide diversity. That would mean the political parties would have to make compromises in order to make the coalition work.
I do agree, the 14th amendment does make clear that the federal government has power over the states. The 13 colonies do have the right to govern themselves, but they’ve also agreed to be a part of this union.
I will also agree with him that people should start getting news from diverse sources and stop watching less credible sources. It should not be the government’s job to decide. Although it is not easy to make this happen over time, I would much rather keep this away from the government.
He makes a good point that the media could be making the racism problem look way more prevalent than it actually is. I think it was all media that made the death of George Floyd look very serious and fearful. During the incident, many people that witnessed this pulled out their phones to record.
My Thoughts About This Assignment.
After completing this assignment, I think learning from new perspectives is very effective. It gives us new ideas to process our logic and thoughts. I would use this assignment again.