Interest groups and political parties are very similar. However, they are not the same. Some characteristics of interest groups include a narrow range of issues covered, not running candidates for office, and never changing position on an issue. These key characteristics distinguish interest groups from political parties. To begin, interest groups are a formally organized group of individuals that share common interests, or goals. These groups exist to influence policy making by supporting…
The Art of Persuasion An activist is a person who seeks for social or economic change; similarly, an extremist is someone who holds intense beliefs and acts upon them. An extreme activist is when someone has fanatical beliefs about social issues and seeks to change them in utmost ways. Two examples of extreme activists are Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. Henry David Thoreau was an American author that was motivated by his disgust with slavery to write the persuasive commentary…
What makes a politician a politician? More importantly, what makes a politician successful? Most would say being kind and true in everything they say, I on the other hand, would say that a successful politician has to be an actor and they have to be able to come up with stories in order for them to get close to the people and get them on his side. In the “Empire of Illusion” by Chris Hedges, he argues that the best skill a politician can have is artifice. After reading this passage I have…
There will always be the conflict between society and the individual. Society attempts to conform the masses into an ideologically homogenous group which alienates those who do not share the same ideas, while the individual struggles to stay true to themselves and their values yet still be a member of the community around them. In a utopian world there would be middle ground where the individual is allowed to be themselves and where society can conform everyone to allow there to be peace while…
Congressmen go to junkets and to some it may seem for personal luxury. Many Congressmen however argue that these junkets are mandatory. They use these junkets to investigate an area to see if a bill is needed and catch up on current events. Some of them could be true to their words. However, some of these trips look controversial. The ultimate problem with these junkets is that it ruins the reputation of the government in the public’s eye. Congress would function better if they fix the current…
American politics is built upon collective action. One of the core arguments made by Jane Mansbridge (2014) is that political action requires large scale, group-level collective action. In recent history, the lines that separated how an individual influenced politics and how organized groups influence politics have become blurred. This makes the question of representation not simply one of individual level representation, but a much more complex scenario involving individuals, a rapidly…
Many teen activists are determined to make a difference in the world. They put in a lot of time and effort to change the world. A teen activist, from Westerly, Rhode Island, named Alex Lin, was able to make a difference. His goal was too ban e-waste dumping in Rhode Island. Alex Lin was able to make a difference because he wanted to protect the environment, he had a group of friends to help him, and he was determined. Alex Lin was able to make a difference in the world because he wanted to…
There were ten reform movement in the twentieth century. The ten reform movements are Civil Rights, Conservation, Government Reform, Health and Medicine, Labor Reform, Radical Trade Unionism, Socialism, Temperance, Trust Busting, and Women’s Rights. The most important ones that were addressed in 1900s were Women’s Rights, Labor Reform and Health and Medicine but also the other ones were very important but this ones were the most effect. After the civil war, Susan B. Anthony demanded that he…
Why Americans Hate Politics In Why Americans Hate Politics, E.J. Dionne examines the reasons behind the low status of American politicians and the American disenchantment with politics in general, coming to the conclusion that we dislike politics because it is no longer relevant to our daily lives. Dionne perceives both the Republican and the Democratic Party as caught up in a battle over cultural issues left over from the 1960s, especially race relations and feminism. Such issues are still…
Explain the role and need for reform movements in the past, and how some worked for both good and bad outcomes. Compare and contrast with Today’s issues and create warnings and/or recommendations for today based on your conclusion. The role and need for reform movements was to try to create a more perfect society, but not all the movements had the expected outcome. THE BAD For example, the Eugenics Theory was supposed to produce a utopian society, but in reality, the movement only…