National and California Government
The president plays an important role in the overall condition of the country being governed. It cannot be prevented that a president is defined from the things that he or she has done. The actions done during the presidential term will become the basis of how history will judge him or her. This is the situation that former President George W. Bush is in. Basing from the opinion of the majority of Americans, Bush will rank in the bottom half because of his incompetent performance. The opinion of the American people is important in measuring a leader’s effectiveness.
Their inputs are essential especially in a democratic country like United States, wherein people are regarded as the real stakeholders. According to the social contract, the authority of the government comes from the people when they surrender their rights in allowing a government to lead them. Moreover, the opinion of the majority is important in a democratic government as it operates under popular sovereignty (Rousseau and Betts, 1999). In relation to this, a survey ranking the 42 past presidents of the United States was conducted by C-SPAN.
Bush was ranked 41st in terms of international relations; and 40th in terms of economic management. These prove that Bush failed in two important aspects of his leadership as a president. After the first month of descending from presidency, he ranked 36th out of the 42 men who served as presidents (Metzler, 2009). George W. Bush ranked in the bottom half of the American presidents because he did not properly address the issues and the needs of the people. This status is substantiated by the majority of the Americans who believe Bush’s leadership as incompetent.
The president is always accountable to the people; thus, a negative approval rating from them shows the weaknesses of the leader. Judicial Activism The Constitution is an essential part in the overall robustness of a country because it contains provisions that aim to protect and uphold the human rights of individuals and provides the authorities and limitations of the government. Because of the important purpose that it serves, it is regarded as the highest law of the land. The Constitution should embody judicial activism, while coinciding with the changes of time.
The Constitution is created for the welfare of the people and the country as a whole; and if it is not able to serve its function, then it defeats the purpose of having a Constitution. The Constitution is an important body of law that must stand the test of time for it to remain applicable for the succeeding generations; thus it must constantly undergo changes. Moreover, an effective Constitution should adhere to the needs of the people and these needs tend to change over time. This argument can be proven by the case of District of Columbia v.
Heller wherein the issue discusses the Second Amendment of the U. S. Constitution. The Second Amendment stipulates that if necessary, a regulated militia’s right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed. The court ruling favored Heller in his claim that the implemented ban of the District of Columbian in owning handguns is unconstitutional. The judges who ruled in favor of Heller interpreted this amendment as a provision that includes an individual’s right to own handguns to defend oneself (United States Supreme Court, 2007).
In this ruling, the court interpreted the law in the context that suited the needs of the present generation. Judicial activism is the way by which the Constitution should be interpreted. The Constitution should adhere to the changes of time because the needs of the people also vary as time passes. The main purpose of the Constitution is to address these needs and this can be done by regarding it as a “Living Document. ” Deny Reparation Slavery has been one of the most pressing issues that the United States faced in the past and still persists at this current era.
There are still some concerns that involve the use of slave labor by the Americans before, and one of which is the issue of reparation to the descendants of American slaves. Reparations should be denied to the descendants of American slaves because it is difficult to properly identify the victims as well as the level of harm done and it would increase racism. Identifying the actual descendant of American slaves is a very difficult and enormous task to accomplish because a descendant cannot be merely recognized through present racial self-identification.
Some people can even take advantage of this situation by claiming that they are descendants even if they are not just to get the benefits of the reparation. Moreover, it is very difficult to measure the level of victimization that is done to these slaves in order to gauge the proper reparation that must be implemented (Schuck, 2002). Another reason is that reparation will increase racial prejudice. Using racial background as a basis for reparation might be seen by some people as a form of injustice and will arouse bitterness from other race.
They might argue that slaves are not the only ones who experience hardships as there are also other races who have experienced difficulties through other forms of social violence. Descendants of American slaves should not receive reparation because this would only result to more problems and difficulties. Reparation is difficult to accomplish because being a descendant cannot be easily identified, which might cause other people to take advantage of the situation. Moreover, other races will feel more marginalized if only descendants of American slaves will receive reparation. References Metzler, N. T. (2009).
Presidential Ranking: Bush Not the Worst Ever. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www. nbcnewyork. com/news/us_world/NATLPresidential-Ranking-Bush-Not-the-Worst-Ever. html? corder=&pg=1. Rousseau, J. J. , & Betts, C. (1999). Discourse on Political Economy; and The Social Contract. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. Schuck, P. H. (2002). Slavery Reparations: A Misguided Movement. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://jurist. law. pitt. edu/forum/forumnew78. php. United States Supreme Court. (2007). District of Columbia v. Heller. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from http://www. supremecourtus. gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290. pdf.
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