The majority of American citizens see politics as an exploitation by a few people of the ignorant masses. They, however, know that without politics the democratic government of the United States cannot function as efficiently. Americans usually see politics as neccessary, but they tend to shy away from any involvement. Most people think of a politician as a man running for office for his own selfish interests, but politics is much broader than that. Politics is a public resolution of a conflict within in a basic consensus. This means that even people deciding together which course of action to take have engaged in politics. To thoroughly understand politics we must look at the stages of politics, the levels of politics, and the reality of politics.
There are three main stages of politics, which include the creation, agenda and decision-making stages. There is no particular order to these stages, and all of these stages have to arrive. The creation stages is usually the first stage. People began to unite to solve their problems together, because they see the benefits in combating problems collectively. Problem-solving becomes easier, more efficient, and requires less work on the individual level. Through unity, people organize institutions which help to unite the people. Institutions help the people resolve problems publicly. The second stage of politics is the agenda stage. The people collectively form an agenda on what direction they will take in solving their problems. Agendas are created to lead the focus of the government. In the decision-making stage, the people make the final decisions on the matters and decide what is the best course of action to take in stopping current problems and preventing future ones.
The three levels of poltics are the state, legislative and presidential levels. The lowest level is the state, because it is directly effected by the public. When these officials run, they try to please the majority by whatever means they can, and when they are in office they want to stay in office by pleasing the people. These officials directly represent the interests of the people. These officials move onto the legislative level. The legislative body is the main decision-making body in the United States government. These Senators and Congressmen vote on issues that effect the United States. If their people have a consensus upon which course of action to take, they will usually take that course of action to gain support which will keep them in office. However, if the people are indifferent about the issue, then their legislators tend to side with their political party. The highest level of politics is for the office of the supreme executive, the President of the United States of America. The presidential race is the biggest political event in American politics. Each of the two major parties selects a candidate to represent them, and the American public vote for one of these candidates. Although, Americans think they are actually voting for the president, they are in fact voting for a team of electors. The electors are the real people who elect the president. The electors are sworn to vote for their party, which makes it a complex idea since the Constitution declares them free agents. The electors tend to side with the majority popular vote. This is why the presidential candidates try to win the support of the people. They don’t want to lose any voters, so they are extremely brief and broad in presenting their agendas. Most politicians will do anything it takes to get office, so they will even use unfair practices to get what they want.
The reality of American politics is far different than the forefathers of this country could have imagined. American politics has been opened up to the public, and now the public, through their legislators, have a say in the government. The nation has adopted a two party system, which discriminates against third parties. The electors are now sworn to vote for their party. The social elite’s grip on the government has been weakened. Most Americans do not understand the reality of poltics, and they don’t want to understand the reality of politics either. There are still alot of people in the United States that don’t vote. The government of the United States will fall if it loses the support of the people. Politics started out as a unification of interest into solving a common problem, but in the modern-day sense it has become too complicated for the normal everyday American to understand.
I believe that as all great nations fall, one day inevitably America will fall. The symptoms of decline are already showing. People have stopped supporting the actions of the American government. American troops are being deployed too loosely around the world. The American economy is suffering due to too much military spending, loans to other countries and disproportionate allocation of resources. Government spending has increased, however the public is not gaining any benefit from it. The rights guaranteed by the Constitution are slowly being taken away from the public in the name of combating terrorism, and public discontent is on the rise. For Americans to reverse this decline, they must also reverse their attitude toward politics before it is too late.
Date: 10/27/03
