Knowledge for the future

Over these past two trimesters in my government class, I really got to learn in detail how our government made from the ground up. I have been filled with new information, had class discussions, and participated in debates amongst my other classmates. What I want to reflect on is how every piece of information that I have learned in class, leads me to become a stronger citizen for our country.

Two years ago in American History, we began with information on how our government got its foundation. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights guarantee that all American citizens have natural rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These three guarantees are the core of our government.

I’ve learned how to be a responsible citizen because of the individualism that we have been granted certain rights, duties, and responsibilities. At the beginning of the year we took the citizenship test given to immigrants who want to become a legal US citizen. I learned about the process of becoming a US citizen-one of the biggest responsibilities and a right to a US citizen has, is the right to vote.

I have learned that with the right to vote, we take on a huge responsibility. We are responsible to make the right choice for the future of our country. With that, we have learned that elections have consequences. As I watched the Presidential and Vice presidential debates, I got to analyze the candidate’s comments and discus the tone of the electorate, which was very similar to our classmate’s beliefs in opinions. Some of us believed that the world would end if Barak Obama won reelection, while others thought he was the answer to all of our problems. So far the world has not ended and everyone’s problems are still the same or worse. Just like the US economy. Nothing has changed since the election except more of the same, which is why voters must inform themselves about the candidates. That leads me to the actions and responsibilities of Congress.

Congress is made up of two chambers: the US Senate and the US House of Representatives. I have learned how Congressmen are elected and how long they may serve. The US Senate is made up of 100 members; the US House of Representatives is made up of 435 members. Senators may serve up to 6 years and House members 2 years. Each chamber has a speaker and a different committees, much like our student government at Parish. As a representative of my grade in student government, I get to put in ideas and work on projects to better our community, just like what congress does today. We learned that bills originate in the US house and an identical bill must be approved in the Senate. Eventually after debates and rewrites it either ends up on the Presidents desk or dies in committee. We also have seen how the members in each chamber do not get along and how they put their own constituents ahead of the country as a whole and gridlock develops. The president’s job is to be a leader and bring the two groups together, however, this semester in the US government, we have seen plenty of examples of how no ones is working together. They all look like kindergarteners not wanting to work together and fighting over crayons.

I could go on for hours about what all I have learned over these past two trimesters. The main thing I have learned is what little I knew previous about our country. Being in government class, I get a better understanding of how government is supposed to work. I feel like when I am 18 and legal to vote, I will be able to use my knowledge and understanding of Presidential races, and what to look for in debates to place my vote on what I think is best for our country in the future.

This isn’t a pants party…

As a citizen who can legally drive in the United States, I always try not to get pulled over.  Getting a ticket is a true fear of mine, especially because my parents would kill me if I did.  But now, I have another reason to not want to get pulled over, but is a bit more extreme of a reason.  In early April, the Supreme Court affirmed a law that allows for any policeman or police force to strip search any single person even if there’s no belief that the person is carrying something illegal.  This is frightening; not just to me, but to many people, and for good reason too.  

Let’s pretend I’m driving my beautiful black passat one during the summer.  A female, or male, cop decides to pull me over because I was ‘maybe’ didn’t fully stop at the stop sign a couple of yards back.  After deciding to give me a ticket, she decides to make me  get out of my car, just to ‘make sure’ I’m not carrying anything illegal.  After I step out of my car, he or she tells me I must take off all of my clothes, or I will be arrested.  Because of this, I am publicly humiliated in front of all the other drivers, and potentially worse, but that can be left to your imagination.  As the cop pulls away, I feel like I should be able to make a case for sexual assault or harassment or something, right?  No.  I can’t because of the law that was passed in early April.

A month or so ago in government class, we did an activity where we used Article One of the Constitution to determine whether or not certain hypotheticals were constitutional or unconstitutional.  Some of them had to do with protection rights, freedom of speech, rights of the government, etc.

This new law that was passed relates directly to what the Bill of Rights states as our rights as citizens of the U.S.  In my opinion, this new law is completely unconstitutional.  In the 4th Amendment it clearly states that “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue.”  This states that people shall not be violated in their own personal property, unless upon probably cause.  The problem with this is that ‘probable cause’ is not clearly defined, thus creating a hole in the Amendment.

Again, I believe that this new law is unconstitutional.  I hope that one day Congress will see that this law is truly unconstitutional and understand that this destroys citizens rights to search and seizure regulations.

Avoid the 13% Affected

As citizens, we believe that everyone should abide to the law of the land, to serve and protect those in danger and to keep our government in place. However, power manipulates the authority and makes our system corrupt. Police officers are known to be the citizens’ protectors and we depend on them when a bad act comes along, but they too are open to become corrupt. Kelly Thomas, “a 37-year-old homeless man afflicted with schizophrenia” was brutally beaten to death by Cpl. Jay Patrick Cicinelli and Officer Manuel Ramos in Fullerton, California. To make matters worse, Ron Thomas, father of Kelly Thomas,was “offered…nearly a million dollars to settle the case” by Fullerton city officials. However, Ron Thomas declined and pushed for a criminal trial.

These men committed a violation of the 8th amendment for “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” and by violating the right of a mentally ill man, they should be charged as criminals. Under a U.S. code called Section 1983: Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights, “it [is] unlawful for anyone acting under the authority of state law to deprive another person of his or her rights under the Constitution or federal law. The most common claims brought against police office [of many]…excessive or unreasonable force.”

Though these policemen violated Kelly Thomas’ rights, they also have rights to stand trial according to the 6th amendment and have the right to have a “jury; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any state, the trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have directed.” Currently, Officer Ramos “faces a potential sentence of 15 years to life if convicted of second-degree murder but only four years if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Cicinelli faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison.”

Research has shown that there are number of percentages that police have used unjustified brutal force against a person, 13% are fatalities, sadly, Kelly Thomas was one of that 13%. No government system is perfect but it shouldn’t be so brutal that instead of protecting citizens, they kill them. Learn your rights as individual citizens and don’t be a victim of that 13%.