Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the Objections at large on their Journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such Reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the Bill, it shall be sent, together with the Objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a Law. But in all such Cases the Votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and Nays, and the Names of the Persons voting for and against the Bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively. If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.  

Charters of Freedom "A new World is At Hand"   Section 7

I picked this paragraph because in my 40 years living in the United States I have never read or sat to study such information.  Yes, I heard about the terms on the news or skimmed it on the paper: bills, laws, the houses, the senate and of course the President.   But I have never been issued such a document that explained it to me, nor did I have a motivation to learn about it as I now have the hunger for more knowledge of this system. Plus as I was reading it I got a flashback of one of my favorite shows “Sons of Anarchy” and how they operated and came together to vote on a decision or to make a move for the sake of the club, etc. I see this concept with our government.

I enjoy the back and forth between the higher ups and those in the middle and the ones at the bottom. It is supposed to safe guard against absolute power from one leader to the other, or The President just saying “I am making this law and it is finally”, so dictatorship like. 

First: In a single republic, all the power surrendered by the people is submitted to the administration of a single government; and the usurpations are guarded against by division of the government into distinct and separate departments. In the compound republic of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided between two distinct governments, and then the portion allotted to each subdivided among distinct and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the rights of the people. The different governments will control each other; at the same time that each will be controlled by itself.

The Federalist N0. 51 Article.

I chose this paragraph because it highlights two distinct styles of governing and a brief description of how they operate.  It also shows how the people are giving them (officials) the power to govern and lead them. This passage was important to me because ideally I can see how it could all work if followed and honored correctly. These two ways are set up to hold the govern officials accountable to do the right thing (Ideally) by their respected republic.

I would love to add an addition clause to have the same people that elected them, to continue to follow them after the election process. To hold them accountable every month of their terms and to hold the subdivisions to that same standard. Then maybe justice can be served and all the bullshit governing will stop.

 The concept of power was further expanded on by sociologist Steven Lukes who argued there are actually “three dimensions of power” the first being political decisions (Dhal), the second is framing (Bachrach and Baratz), and the third is power to influence values or social norms.  Lukes argues it is ultimately what people consider to be right or wrong, or normal, that will influence what choices are available and what decisions are made.  In political science one way to interpret and measure political values is to conduct public opinion polls.  A small sampling of a few thousand people are given a questionnaire to fill out, the results of which are combined and calculated in a way that is believed to reflect the general attitude of the entire population.  Modern public opinion polls were created by George Gallup in the 1930s who also founded the organization that bears his name, still generally considered the most influential company that conducts these polls.  Polls also help shape discussions by identifying what important issues are, and thus also exercise power.  The results of this poll and commentary reflect the general negative opinions that Americans have towards the government.  Negative attitudes towards the government would mean that choices for government action will be limited.  Overall the poll shows that people are distrustful of the government but are also skeptical of taking away too much government power.  In terms of political parties when a party is in power their supporters clearly support more government intervention, than when they are out of power.

I chose this passage because I feel very strongly about the public opinion.  Some people say that it doesn't matter what we say because we are the little people but at the end of the day our vote and Potential candidates rely on polls to determine who is in front of the race and what is pushing forward.  We are the people and our opinion counts.

Our opinion counts we are the people we choose our government leaders and we have the right to state what is wrong and right.  We have to have our word be heard in more ways than one. For starters have more minorities at the Polls is great way to start this movement. 

Personally choose this passage because I know a person that for 20 years of his life his opinion and his vote didn't count. He was incarcerated for 20 yrs and he didn't have the luxuries that we afford ourselves when we are free.  As a free person as a contributor to our society, he wants to have the right to vote or to state his opinions of the issues and the candidates that are representing us as a people.  Polls are very important to our voting system.  Polls can determine who our next leader might be.  Or who we want in that position. But being a felon and a parolee has denied him this opportunity, this constitutional right to pull the lever.

That’s power to exclude a section of the population from voting!  Reminds of a point in history before the year 1920, when a section of our population was not permitted to vote.  Women were that target.  Is history repeating itself? American has to substitute and fine someone else to oppress in the name of POWER?

by Raul Burgos