Calvert Hall College High School
Baltimore, Maryland
Mr. George Kropp
The Power of Government
By Brandon Sellers
11th Grade
In question ten, Jessie Viet feels that a government does not need more power no matter the size that a nation grows to. I do not understand how he can think this with the problems we have today. As countries get more broad and diverse in vital parts such as culture, religious beliefs or states of life, the government and other parts of society will need more power to control all of the problems caused by so many.
In the beginning of the United States, the government consisted of much less people to govern a much smaller country than it is today. They had to provide more power, in order to make sure that it is not spread so thin as to make it impractical. Today, it would be ludicrous to think you could control 300 million people with the number of people in the U.S. government in the 18th century. Perfect examples of these expansions are the Departments of the Federal Executive Branch. When the department system was first begun after The Constitution was ratified, we had three departments: the State Department, War Department and the Treasury. Today, we have to deal with problems ranging from Medicare, welfare, threat of war, diplomatic relations, education, national debt and more, so we have 15 departments today. All of this, for over 300 million people in one of the biggest countries of the world. Plus, you have state governments, which have less power but are more focused on the people of that state.
Another example is found in the Boy Scouts of America. As a member of a local troop, I was once a patrol leader, a leader of about 6 boys aged 12-15. I could control them well enough and sometimes enlisted the help of my Assistant Patrol Leader. However, what if you are Senior Patrol Leader? In other words, the leader of 36 boys divided into 6 patrols? More bureaucracy and thus more power as you go up the chain of command. If a troop consists of one patrol, you have one man to answer to: the patrol leader. Thus, he has all of the powers but they are limited. But what if you are being especially bothersome among 36 boys? Then you answer to the Patrol Leader (PL), the Senior Patrol Leader, even the adult Scoutmasters. And, believe it or not, the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) has more powers than the Patrol Leader. The SPL has his own patrol of the older boys and with 36 boys; you could have 4 guys in the Senior Patrol to help the SPL. But what happens when the number of boys exceeds 60? Six patrols of 8-9 boys and then the senior patrol, hopefully a bit bigger with 7-8 members. The power should be evenly spread out from there in the senior patrol, one boy to deal with the senior patrol stuff a member to help each patrol and, of course the SPL. But in order to be effective, each boy of responsibility needs a certain amount of power and that power has to come from somewhere.
As many perpetrators of the law have found out, you may have to answer to many people for a wrongdoing. The perfect example of this is Michael Vick. Michael, a professional football star for the Atlanta Falcons, was accused of many crimes involving dog-fighting when his house was visited and searched for drugs. His relative who lived in the house was a user, and behind the house the police found an area devoted to dog-fighting, including pens, blood stains and pit-bulls, the most common sub-specie used in dog-fighting. He was sentenced to 23 months in prison for funding the dog-fighting, but that was just the federal government’s sentence. He still has to face the state and the NFL and will probably receive punishments from both. This shows that even companies have their own restrictions and penalties that correspond with many, if not all, laws of the country. The NFL and MLB both have been forced to put harsher penalties tied to steroids into place, and both are also considering more prevalent testing than ever before. If these leagues do not make sure that their own players don’t cheat, who will? The players? The leagues must make sure steroids do not enter either league. How is that possible without more power? You could place the power with the players to take care of themselves and play without steroids, but look where that got MLB. Now there are dozens of known steroid users that are proven to have taken steroids by the Mitchell Report.
Although these powers do limit our freedom at times and most may not like it, the more people you have, the more government and power you will need as the social problems caused by such a diverse population get more complex.
Answers to Questions Regarding the Required Reading
Q1-What do you think Justin Reiter meant by including the following in his essay? “…if the people are not accustomed to the freedom they will be angered by the inequality.” Were you angered by some of the things Justin said in his essay? Did you agree or disagree?
Justin Reiter was referring to the fact that if a group of people who lived in a communist state all of their lives and were changed into a capitalistic, democratic society they would hate it. Why? Because after participating in something for ten or more years, then you either get used to it or learn to get used to it. There isn’t much of a choice. One main dissension I have with what Justin said was that he neatly placed everyone into a social group stereotype and then proceeded to describe the stereotype. Although many of the stereotypes are true in a broad sense, describing the upper class as needing to have “Something over someone else” is a little extreme.
All people are greedy, though, no matter how much or how little they have. When donations from the rich go to charities, you see big amounts like the three million dollars Bill Gates donated a few years ago to disease research. Unfortunately, that is a small percentage of what he is worth. Imagine, if someone donated all they owned, or even half they owned, to a charity. If a celebrity, like Bill Gates, that person would be ridiculed as mad and crazy for changing his life forever. Yet to be truly charitable, a person must be willing to do that.
Q2- Explain: “He felt that the common good could be served by each individual pursuing self-interest.” To whom did Chris Carney attribute these feelings?
James Madison, according to Chris Carney, felt that “The common good could be served by each individual pursuing self-interest”. The impact of Madison’s belief is exhibited in our capitalist economy, allowing companies, through competition, to better themselves.
Q3- In the next to the last paragraph in her essay, Faith Doyle discuses Emperor Diocletian and his Edict of 301. Relate that to the essay topic.
Faith Doyle describes the Emperor Diocletian’s Edict of 301 as the killer blow to an already failing economy. By trying to regulate too much they could handle, the Roman government cut many responsibilities of the people to try to make everyone equal.
Q4- Kelly Lanier says in her essay: “Even though everyone is born with the same rights here in America; sometimes a person can step on or take away the rights of another person.” Relate the example she gives and give us another one of your own.
She says that if someone killed someone else with a gun, then that person used their right to own a gun to kill and end someone else’s life, ending their freedom to live. Another example is if someone raided a local church, restricting citizens from participating in their faith.
Q5- Explain what Joshua Spencer means when he says that “individual liberty is a fragile, yet powerful, asset.” How does he relate individual liberty to dictators? Do you agree with his assessment? Why or why not? Be specific.
Joshua Spencer wrote that a dictator will rise to power by making everyone equal, but he will give out “Handouts” to satisfy his followers and make them rely on him. Then, when he becomes dictator, he makes the people completely dependent on him. We need to take advantage of our freedoms and responsibilities by taking care of ourselves. We can do this by being independent from the government aid that comes our way or use it to our best advantage, not living off of it.
Q6-Luck Hall asked “Will we maintain our freedom or destroy it to be safe?” How would you answer that question?
Hopefully, America chooses to maintain the freedom of the people rather than destroy it to be safe, although there are some examples of ridiculous restrictions and rules. One of these is the fact that elementary and middle schools across the country are getting rid of recess to make sure kids do not get hurt. If kids cannot play tag, what are they allowed to do?
Q7- Some people, according to which student essayist in 1999, suggested that “the Constitution's framers might have 'put greater emphasis on the protection of the community over individual liberty', had they seen the world today.”? She doesn’t agree. Do You?
Molly McGlone felt that the framers of the Constitution would not chance it if they saw the world today. I think they would, simply out of shock and horror at the world and what it has become. Machine guns! Nuclear bombs! Today’s fashion! Imagine them seeing what the average man wears on the street compared to the United States in 1776. They would be so baffled at what the U.S. culture has become.
Q8- “Just because a
law may achieve desirable results, it should not take precedence over the
Constitution.” Do you agree or disagree? Aaron Traffas, discusses the Ban
on Smoking in Public Places and the Gun Free School Zones Act. How do you
personally feel about these two issues?
If a law is put into precedence over the Constitution, then there should be a good reason. The times have changed and laws should be allowed to overtake the Constitution. Despite the aura of respect to the Constitution today, the document is not perfect, and was formed by politicians just like laws are formed today.
Q9- Annie St. Romain referred to a book in her essay where “the government regulated every possible aspect of human life from profession to family to emotions.” What was the name of that book? Have you read it?
Annie St. Romain was referring to The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I have read it, and it presented a community that included one man, the Giver himself, who had all the memories, fond or fatalistic, of the world. No one else in the community knew anything regarding culture, fun, dangers or even colors to protect each citizen from anything that could befall them in the real world.
Q10- “As nations grow in size and social complexity, governments claim greater powers to restrain individuals and groups. Those who criticize this development believe that it has gone so far as to threaten the existence of individual liberty. Others believe that only if government is granted such powers, can complex problems be solved.” This quote can be found in Jessie Veit’s essay. Which side of the issue do you support and why?
Jessie Veit’s thought described is very controversial. A community will grow larger, including more and more social groups and, unfortunately, the government will need more power to control the community. (See essay for details)
Q11- Give three examples where personal responsibility would replace the need for laws. Do not duplicate those found in Patrick Karcher’s essay.
One circumstance is traffic rules. If someone does not obey the rules, than they get hurt and someone else gets hurt. Another is not to pollute. If we do not take care of the world today, then it will be gone tomorrow, disallowing our nation’s children to survive. Even something as simple as education should not be required by law. If your child is not at least fundamentally educated by the public school system, than you are restricting your kid’s chance to succeed.
Q12- It is obvious that Benji Lehman is idealistic. In his essay he claims when the founding Fathers “wrote the Constitution they put a great emphasis on each person having personal rights as well as individual liberties. The true strength of each and every community falls on the individual. Believing each man, woman, and child will, and can recognize the importance of good responsibility.…These were laws that gave each and everyone of us the opportunity and self-respect to do the right thing.” Benji believed that people would make choices that would serve and benefit their communities. Do you believe that? Please explain.
Most of the time, the individual will make the right decision that would benefit their community. However, there are always those people that are only looking out for themselves, not anyone else.