Civil Liberties and Social Responsibility
In 2002, as reported by The New York Times, the Bush administration approved a presidential bill giving the National Security Agency (NSA) the power to track, listen to, and intercept without a warrant the local and international communications (e.g. emails, phone calls) of a vast number of American citizens. Sooner or later, the scheme expanded to involve a certain extent of 'internal controls' (ACLU, 2015, para 2), yet there was no mention of mandating warrants specified under the foreign intelligence surveillance laws. This surveillance program has penetrated and invaded almost all of the communications technologies and networks that the American people have come to depend on. This program is generally facilitated by two controversial laws approved by Congress-- the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act (FAA) and the Patriot Act (ACLU, 2015). Even though the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court monitors and supervises the surveillance operations of the government, it works in almost complete secrecy by means of a biased system that actively supports the government.
But this event led to some extent of social responsibility in the American government. The Obama administration established the U.S.A Freedom Act as a cluster of clear-cut reforms, such as the termination of the NSA's mass gathering of U.S. citizens' personal information (e.g. phone calls) and better transparency concerning the undisclosed decisions of the FISA court (Yuhas, 2015). This move gained the support of previous and present intelligence authorities, who choose its reforms to the errors of several officials.
Another event that promoted social responsibility in the American government today is the Ferguson civil forfeiture case. The American people were shocked when they heard the news in 2013 that the small city of Ferguson “issued 32,975 arrest warrants for nonviolent offenses” (Lithwick & Stern, 2014, p. 2 para 4). The city was collecting unreasonably high court fees and fines for such petty crimes, and detaining those who were not able to pay. This event led the U.S. Treasury Department and the Justice Department to encourage law enforcement departments in California to amend their civil forfeiture policies. In fact, the federal government prohibited every law enforcement agency in New Mexico from teaming up with federal departments in forfeiture activities (Sibilla, 2015). This development promoted some level of social responsibility in the forfeiture operations of the government.
News Stories and Public Opinion
Without a doubt, the media is a highly potent political instrument because it can mold and influence public opinion of the government. One news story that sparked positive public opinion of the U.S. government is the Obama administration's massive effort to prevent gun violence. As clearly proclaimed by the president, he would not “campaign for, vote for, or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does no support common-sense gun reform” (Foran, 2015, para 5). As reported in a CNN/ORC survey, more than half-- 67%-- of the American people supports Obama's executive measures against gun violence and ownership (White, 2016). Obama announced an expansion of background checks in order to effectively curb gun violence, while, at the same time, enhancing the outcomes of the program. The approval rating of the Obama administration on its supervision of gun policy rose after Obama's proclamation of the government's planned series of executive measures. Newport (2013) also reports that 53% of the American people admitted they would support these proposed gun laws and even Congress representatives who will vote for them (para 8). Such positive public opinion was influenced by a barrage of news stories demonstrating how these gun laws could prevent gun violence and thus protect American families.
On the other hand, news story or media coverage can also negatively influence public opinion of the government. One example is news stories about the controversial ObamaCare. A news story written by Matthews (2012) of Forbes enumerated some compelling reasons why ObamaCare should not be supported, such as “perverse economic incentives” (Matthews, 2012, para 9) and “a bevy of new taxes” (Matthews 2012, para 1). This news story talks about how ObamaCare is a burden to taxpayers, insurers, health care providers, and the patients themselves. Matthews (2012) further claimed that the ObamaCare, which proposes to cover a huge number of previously uninsured individuals, will only raise health care expenditure, and that this is bad news for the taxpaying public. Because of such bad publicity, the American public thinks that ObamaCare should be reformed, not repealed (Blumenthal & Cohn, 2015). Furthermore, according to the report of Blumenthal and Cohn (2015), the Democrats and Republicans, as well as the public, react negatively to the ObamaCare partly because of news sources. From these examples alone, it becomes apparent that the media plays an important role in shaping public opinion of the government.
Moral Differences between Democrats and Republicans
The fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans is that the latter embrace conservative ideals while the former espouse liberal values. As shown in the latest Gallup survey, Republicans are more supportive of medical experimentation on animals and capital punishment than Democrats. On the other hand, Democrats have been more supportive of same-sex marriage and abortion than the Republicans (Ashtari, 2014). However, Republicans and Democrats have long been divided in their opinion of two moral issues-- capital punishment and same-sex marriage. Republicans largely support stricter, more severe punishments when a person has perpetrated a crime, such as selling and/or using illicit drugs. In contrast, Democrats are more liberal in their arguments, claiming that offenders charged of nonviolent crimes, like trading and using illegal drugs, should undergo rehabilitation and receive lighter punishments; they also oppose the death penalty (RepublicViews.org, 2014). Public opinion of the death penalty is more in agreement of the Republican view, with most Americans supporting capital punishment for murder convicts (Pew Research Center, 2015a). Majority of Americans believe that the death penalty is morally acceptable and executed justly in the country. Here, it is apparent that the Republicans' moral argument about capital punishment has greater weight on public opinion than that of the Democrats. This is an ethical concern for the American people because even though most of them view death penalty as morally just, they are uncertain whether all of those executed are really guilty.
The second point of contention between the Republicans and Democrats is on the issue of same-sex marriage. The Republicans oppose same-sex marriage while the Democrats favor it. Public opinion is more in line with the Democrats' argument, with 55% of the American people supporting same-sex marriage (Pew Research Center, 2015b). As same-sex marriage becomes legal, disagreements arise over how the law must deal with those who express religious oppositions to gay and lesbian marriage. This moral issue becomes complicated for the Republicans and Democrats, as well as for the American people, because the question is whether to prioritize religious liberties or the rights of same-sex couples. This moral issue further divides the Republicans and Democrats. This is of great interest to the public because two major civil liberties are involved.
References
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (2015). NSA surveillance. American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/issues/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/nsa- surveillance.
Ashtari, S. (2014, Jun 2). Premarital sex, other 'moral' issues divide Democrats and Republicans. Huffpost Politics. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/moral-beliefs- democrats-republicans_n_5418819.html.
Blumenthal, M. & Cohn, J. (2015, Jun 21). The surprising reason so many people still don't like ObamaCare. Huffpost Politics. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/21/obamacare-approval-polls_n_7632070.html.
Foran, C. (2016, Jan. 8). Good news for the gun lobby. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/01/gun-control-nra-obama/423315/.
Lithwick, D. & Stern, M. (2014, Dec. 29). The 10 worst civil liberties violations of 2014. Slate. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/12/civil_liberties_violations_of_2014_civil_forfeiture_grand_juries_religion.2.html.
Matthews, M. (2012, Jul 5). Seven things (still) wrong with ObamaCare. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2012/07/05/seven-things-still-wrong-with- obamacare/#5163af204141.
Newport, F. (2013, Jan. 18). Americans' reaction to Obama gun proposals is positive. Gallup. Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/159959/americans-reaction-obama-gun-proposals- positive.aspx.
Sibilla, N. (2015, Sep. 9). Federal government attempts to undermine civil forfeiture reform in California. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/instituteforjustice/2015/09/09/federal-government-threatens-to-cut- funding-if-california-reforms-civil-forfeiture/#2d9046283b8b.
Pew Research Center (2015a, Apr. 16). Less support for death penalty, especially among Democrats. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.people-press.org/2015/04/16/less-support-for-death-penalty-especially-among-democrats/.
Pew Research Center (2015b, Jul 29). Changing attitudes on gay marriage. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes- on-gay-marriage/.
RepublicanViews.org (2014, Oct. 26). Democratic views on the death penalty. Republican Views. Retrieved from http://www.republicanviews.org/democratic-views-on-the-death-penalty/.
Swanson, E. (2015, Jul 18). Poll shows Americans divided on same-sex marriage. PBS Newshour. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/poll-shows-americans-divided-sex- marriage/.
White, D. (2016, Jan. 8). Poll: Americans support Obama gun control initiatives. TIME. Retrieved from http://time.com/4173116/gun-control-barack-obama-polls/.
Yuhas, A. (2015, May 30). NSA surveillance: Obama warns Congress against 'reckless' decision. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/30/nsa-surveillance- obama-congress-usa-freedom-act.
