Importance Of Checks And Balances

On July 4th, 1776 the United States gained independence from Britain – a tyrannous regime that held power over the United States for quite some time. After fighting so hard for independence, the people wanted to make sure they would never be under a tyrannous rule again. Consequently, a system of checks and balance was made to give equal power to the three branches of our government. These checks and balances can be seen all throughout our government, however, one of the best examples that displays the efficiency of this system can be seen in the process of making a law. The first step in this process is to draft a bill. Drafting a bill can be done by any U.S. citizen, however, it can only be introduced by a member of Congress – which is the …show more content…
However, our right to live isn’t the only right that needs protection. Frequently the line between safety and privacy seems to get blurry. This isn’t a new phenomenon, people are very quick to invade privacy, which is why we have certain protections. One of these rights that is protected is “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” This quote can be seen in the fourth amendment of the U.S. constitution. It basically protects us from unreasonable searches without a warrant. A search warrant is a legal document that’s been signed by a judge. The warrant must specify the place, person, or object that’s being searched, and whatever they are trying to seize. Officers need warrants whenever they are searching private property like a car or home, unless there is probable cause or it’s an emergency. For example, a cop could enter a home without a warrant if he heard screaming and gunshots. Officers also need search warrants to go through cell phones and when collecting samples from one’s body such as blood. An officer doesn’t need a warrant if the person gives consent to search or if he is searching someone immediately after arrest. A warrant isn’t necessary when the person engaged in criminal behavior within an officer’s sight, or when an officer is …show more content…
While there is little regulation on this topic because it’s still relatively new in acceptance, does it make it right for our government to partake in this behavior? One way in which our government actively discriminates is through racial gerrymandering. Racial gerrymandering is when district lines are drawn to make massive majority-minority districts. While this may favor certain politicians, it isn’t fair to the people, especially under a democracy. This system allows for less representation of minorities as a whole because they aren’t in as many districts. Instead, they are all saturated within a couple large districts. This means that the areas surrounding these immense districts are almost guaranteed to be republican seats (since minorities tend to vote Democratic). This structure makes it so that candidates from either party aren’t competing for these minority votes in these regions. The most staggering truth about this whole scheme is that more than one hundred districts have been set up this way. Through this method it’s noticeable that the Democratic legislature in the South has been diminishing, especially in recent years. If this system was not in place, both parties would have to broaden their campaigns to adhere to minorities more, and maybe then minorities would get the representation they deserve. Currently, little is being done to stop racial gerrymandering, but there