- The US Constitution is designed both to give voice to the will of the people as well as to check its influence in government. Explain how it does both.
The constitution of United States stipulates on the rights that are to be guaranteed to an individual and hence avoiding any unnecessary harassment. The bill of rights defines some of the privileges and rights a person will be access. By knowing such rights, a person will be free to engage in their daily activities that satisfy them without the fear of being discriminated or intimidated either by fellow persons or even by the government. The main role of the constitution is to defend citizens who may not have the ability to defend their rights even as they engage in their normal activities. Some of the endangered individuals that the constitution seeks to defend and protect are the minority groups, children, disabled, foreigners and others with various needs.
It is easier for the majority groups to take advantage of the inability of the minority to speak out and hence giving them a voice that will ensure they are protected. The bill gives each person the freedom of worship and speech. This hence implies that no matter how much the society is dominated by a particular religious sect, anybody is free to exercise his or her freedom of worship. This means that, for instance if a Christian is found in a Muslim dominated environment, he or she is free to form a Christian gathering and even worship without the fear of being intimidated by the Muslims (Norton 83). In case they do so, them they will have to face the full force of the law and pay for the inconveniences. The bill of rights also gives each person the freedom to speak and share their views without being discriminated on the basis of their class, gender or age.
The constitution of United States acts as a voice to the people by addressing their issues as well as ensuring that they are well represented in the government. Through the state government, the constitution ensures that services are brought close to the people and hence ensuring that they are not left out. For instance, the constitution has established courts in each state and ensured that the regions are well served by administrative police and various leaders to handle issues that face citizens. If a citizen encounters an issue of any kind, they do not need to take the law in their hands or wait before they are addressed. They are able to get the needed attention from the closest administrative center and have their issues sorted. By having constitutional laws that advocate for the rights of the disabled and other people with special needs, it minimizes on discrimination especially in the work places and even in obtaining medical treatment.
On the influence of the government, the constitution has been designed in away that will always put the government under check. The purpose of the government is to reach out to the people land ensure they are served with the necessary facilities. The constitution through the state government has stipulated ways through which government resources have to be distributed. This therefore makes it easier for the people to approach their local authorities with their needs and influence them to provide. For instance, when the citizens know that the government has set aside some money for infrastructure, the citizens are able to report the menace in their area and push the government to use the funds for such activities.
Many times, the government may be blind to what faces the citizens until when pressure is mounted on them. The constitution clearly stipulates the role of the government in defending the needs of the citizens (Norton 93). This hence implies that a citizen who clearly understands the constitution is able to influence the government by ensuring that it fulfills its responsibilities as per the constitution. For instance, when the constitution says that a person should not be convicted before they are tried; the citizen is able to influence the government to protect suspects against mob injustice or unfair treatment by the court. It is for this reason that the government is supposed to provide protection to victims and even suspected criminals before their cases are full charged before the court of law. The government is subsequently liable to compensate a citizen especially if it does not provide the necessary protection and security to its citizen.
The constitution gives people a right to worship and freedom of speech. This implies that the government is supposed to be on the look out to ensure that the minority groups are adequately protected from any form of harassment by the majority. This includes providing security to religious establishments and even worshipers as they engage in their worship activities. Irrespective of the religious inclination of the security officers and government officials, they are obliged to give maximum protection to their people. it is basically because of the rights stipulated that the government ensures its public officers take oaths to defend the constitution as well as serve citizens without showing partiality.
When it comes to implementing the constitution, the government is usually on the sport light and more especially the judicial wing. The ability of the government to uphold the constitution is when a case concerning a violation of human rights is presented. The manner in which the case will be handled and the judgment delivered thereof will determine how effectively it has represented the people. For instance, if a case involving domestic violence is presented in the court, the judges are not supposed to make assumption basing on previous cases. It has always been assumed that it is women and children who are victims of domestic violence. If such assumptions are made, the man is likely to suffer especially if he is he victim in the case.
The court is hence obliged to critically study the case, acquire the necessary evidences and establish what led to the occurrence and the person that was on the wrong. In addressing the needs of the society, the court is not only supposed to punish the confirmed criminal but also ensure that similar cases are prevented from happening again. This is usually revealed through how the case is handled and the magnitude of the punishment given. There is also the protection to the aggrieved part, which is a pledge that the government has to keep and maintain towards its people. People will only develop confidence in the ability of the government to defend the constitution by how well they address the issues that surround them.
- Congress is designed to be the most representative branch of the American state. How representative is it?
The senate of United States is composed of Senate and the House of Representatives. The congress acts as a bridge between the central government and the people; the congress is hence a body that is more close to the people as well as the executive government. With all this responsibilities, it is considered the most representative branch of the American government. The congress is composed of 100 senators representing 50 states of the United States. This implies that each state has tow senators. It also has representatives who include individual that represent the different needs of the people. The structure of the congress is designed in a way that it fully represents the needs of the people (Balinski 142). The senators and the representatives interact with people on a daily basis and hence raising their concerns, which are subsequently forwarded to the central government for action. The fact that the body is elected by the people from the states they represent ensures that people elect only people they believe they will fully address their needs.
The congress is one of the ways through which the government of the United States seeks to ensure that the constitutional rights of the citizens are represented. Unites states is a big state and it would be easy for some parts not to be addressed in terms of development and provision of services. However, through the state governments that are represented by the congress the government is able to address the needs of each state. The government recognized the facts that each state has unique needs, which cannot be addressed jointly by the central government. The devolution of such powers hence makes it possible for the government to the needs of each state and hence addressing them accordingly. Through the congress, the government also ensures that people from all lifestyles with leadership capabilities are given a chance to represent the people. This reduces on the chances of discrimination and consequently assisting the people to re-elect and recall leaders depending on their performance.
In United States, different states are dominated by different categories of people. This is majorly because of settlement and migration patterns. For instance, there are states that are mainly dominated by African Americans, those dominated by poor families, the middle class and even the higher class. There are also states for business people, those who specialize in farming and manufacture industries. Depending on the need, class and status of an individual, they find themselves comfortable living in certain states. Through the congress, the government ensures that the people who represent the people are not imported from other states but are residents of such states. This therefore means that the people that are elected to the congress have a clear understanding of the needs of the people. They have all faced the challenges that their people face and therefore putting them in a better position to represent the people.
People have a tendency to feel safe and secure especially when one of their own is in the government to represent them for instance for instance, a Muslim will feel safer and represented when they have a Muslim in the government. Since there are states dominated by such minority communities, the congress ensures that they are elected into the government and hence representing the issues of such minority groups. It will only take a Muslim to understand the issues that the Muslims face (Balinski 67). By having such a leader in the government, the Muslims will be assured that their issues will be adequately addressed. In addition, a passion is attached to a person who has faced issued and therefore willing to represent them. For instance, a single parent will easily empathies with the needs of a fellow single parent. When given the opportunity to represent fellow single parents in the government, he or she will be doing it not only for herself but also for a larger group of single parents.
It is through the congress that some of the issues of the minority had been ignored and taken for granted. This is because they were not adequately represented or people who could not empathize with their issues represented them. The congress also gives people an opportunity to lead and even be elected to higher positions in the central government. Through their effective leadership skills and faithful representation of their people, which is observed through development projects, they put themselves in a position where they can be elected for other higher posts. For instance, the current president of United States gained his recognition by leading his people through the senate government (Norton 28). This was an opportunity for him to perfect his leadership skills as well as be noticed. As his popularity grew a developmental record of accomplishment displayed that, it was easier for him to clinch the highest seat in the world.
The congress hence performs the purpose of not only ensuring that different people and especially the minority are adequately represented but also molding and mentoring great leaders by giving them the necessary exposure. Since the introduction of the state government, the economic growth of United States has been observed in almost all states as projects established by the government are fully utilized. With such smaller units of the government in each state, the leaders are able to concentrate on developing their states rather than concentrating their efforts in the major cities of the country. The congress through its joint influence and efforts will push the government to intervene in certain situations that faced the people. They would hence get some funding to invest in development projects like hospitals, schools and the likes, which will benefit the society.
The congress is able to monitor activities of the various states they represent and hence acting as an intervention to the central government. The congress is the lowest unit of the government where the people will feel to talk to their leaders without the fear that comes from the gap of class. The fact that they are represented with the people they have seen around and even interacted at a close range, they have the confidence off approaching them and even having their issues addressed. Despite some of the issues that are faced by the congress in trying to address the issues of the people, it remains to be the strongest and the most representative body of the government. It is composed of almost all categories of people, which is a representation on the United States population. Through samplings that are done in the congress, the central government can easily find effective representation of the needs of the people.
Works cited
Balinski, Michel Louis, and H. Peyton Young. Fair representation: meeting the ideal of one man, one vote. Brookings Institution Press, 2001.
Norton, Mary Beth, et al. A People & A Nation: A History of the United States: Since 1865. Vol. 2. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2011.
