Sovereign Grace Ministries

Bellamy Essay Richard Bellamy has compiled numerous explanations and theories explaining the complex dynamics of crowds and how they are essentially a living resource for politicians and democracy. He goes in depth on the behavioral discoveries that explain why humans act differently in large groups, how they adopt a sort of “hive mentality”. There are interesting conflicts between philosophers wanting governments to operate a certain way, but it ultimately fails due to human nature unable to…

As civilians, there are certain fundamental pieces of our history and government that all Americans should know. This knowledge ranges from our rights and governmental functions to our nations beginning and shortcomings. Despite the apparent importance of civic literacy, it has been consistently found that Americans have little knowledge about their own country. This proves to be harmful in many ways proven through lack of political involvement, incorrect knowledge and the depolarization of our…

At a superficial level, Laozi and Mozi seem to be at odds with one another on nearly all levels. Mozi’s philosophy is backed up with reasoning and a prevailing idea of rational thought in order to create order. Seemingly contradictory is Laozi’s claim that order is created through a spiritual law produced by an entity he calls “Dao” or the Way. At a glance Laozi’s philosophy seems far too mystical to have similarities with Mozi, but they actually have far more in common when it comes to how they…

Censorship of information continues to be a growing issue in modern society, with countless scandals that lead to a rising distrust in many federal governments. Arguments can be made both toward and against censorship, but the most effective way to pick a side is to analyze which issues weigh heaviest on the scale of a safe country. No country is ever going to become a utopia because that is an idea that only exists is fantasy, but a country that is safe and liveable is a success in the grand…

Power, as defined in its simplest form is universally conceived as the ability one has to persuade or force another to carry out an act which they otherwise would not do. The concept of power is a central theme to the study of International Relations, as there exist many forms and categories of it making it open to contestation and thus difficult to define. In particular, large entities and state power is the discourse in indicating social, political, economic, and military power. The many…

The political philosopher Isaiah Berlin classified thinkers into two general types: hedgehogs, who perceive the world through a single ideological lens, and foxes, who derive understanding from diverse experiences and ideas. Joseph Parent’s book, Uniting States: Voluntary Union in World Politics, suggests that he is a paradigmatic hedgehog. Starting with his acknowledgement of influence from Realist luminaries including Robert Art, James Fearon, Robert Jervis, John Mearsheimer, Steve Walt,…

Are states worth our time? Could the United States function as efficiently if states were dissolved? Ultimately, states are necessary for our federal government to function. Since the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, Founders believed in a division between governments to ensure no single entity would gain power. While a division between levels of government is needed to secure the rights of citizens, history has indicated a struggle for power between national and state institutions. The…

At the crux of Locke’s Second Treatise on Government is the idea that there is a natural law under which we all fall under, but in order to ensure these freedoms are protected from exploitation we create societies and governments. However, there is some grey area when it comes to determining whether or not a person has given consent to the government, and at what point the governmental system crosses the line in exercising its power and thereby loses its legitimacy and can rightfully be…

To me the major challenge that the Founding Fathers needed to reconcile was how to make 13 individual sovereign states into one functioning unit without infringing on the States right to govern their own citizens. James Madison, a staunch supporter of federalism, wrote in his The Federalist No. 10 “that no man is allowed to be a judge in his own cause, because his interest would certainly bias his judgment, and, not improbably, corrupt his integrity (Dolbeare & Cummings, 2010, p. 93).” This is…

Digital Privacy Without privacy there is no freedom. Conversely, without security there is no country. Imagine a chaotic world where citizens live in constant fear of what could happen to them, because of the lack of safety in their country. Terrorism has especially been an issue in America, and with the growing number of threats, it is impossible to tell when or where domestic attacks may occur. The government should have every right to access digital information of their citizens, to maintain…