Being a young man in a poor area of Dallas, Texas I use to get in trouble with my friends, just for fun and not care for others. My circle would vandalize poverty, cause terror, and be involved in gangs. All that change once certain friends took the addiction and violence too far. High school graduation was looming, so I took a different route. I could not see myself hurting my own kind. I felt, I needed to help and inspire my community to stand up against injustice, but I needed to redefined myself through the military and college. The military helped me established a foundation of ownership, which lead me in enrolling in my local community college where I was enlighten about activism and entered numerous organizations to be involved in service. …show more content…
Wolf PAC has enlightened me about the domino effect that corporations funding candidates has in our society. Wolf PAC became a personal challenge because I was afraid of failing. However, I gained the confidence to spread recognition of the problem. At first, I only donate money, but after watching videos of people my age making changes in New Jersey, it made me believe in myself. Following this further, I started to bring awareness to my close friends and classmates in college. I met other volunteers through virtual meetups. I spoke with my neighbors, explaining the mission to people, and signing up new volunteers. I called my state legislators, explained what Wolf PAC is, and set up serious of meetings. This was the first time I was active in politics and had the attention of my representatives. Finally, as an extension of my actions, I decided to incorporate Wolf PAC into my school organization. Being a Phi Theta Kappa officer, I suggested basing our project on the presidential election. This election cycle raised over one billion dollars in campaign finances. We concluded that legal bribes influence our candidates more than the voices of the voters. Their messages and their behaviors would be different if corporations and the “one percent” were not able to make these legal
In her recent book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, Jane Mayer pens a scathing critique of the multibillionaires who have been attempting to use their obscene amounts of wealth to buy the elections from the American people. The novel details the ascent of the Koch brothers, Charles and David, and their network of followers from oil tycoons in the 1970s to the massive political donors of modern day. Mayer argues that the brothers’ upbringing in Kansas by their authoritarian father, Fred, and demure mother, Mary, created in them a deep hatred of authority and a vision of the world built on economic freedom and pure market capitalism. Ironically, the brothers, especially Charles, rule over
Corporate Domination in Political Culture: An Analysis of “Dividing Citizens United: The Case v. The Controversy” by Lawrence H. Tribe Corporations have become an influential source of political financing as a result of the controversial 2010 Supreme Court ruling, which stated that corporations are protected under the First Amendment to spend unlimited sums of money in support of campaign advertisements, so long as they are not directly connected with any political candidate (Murray Digby Marziani 1). In Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, by allowing corporations to use general treasury funds for unlimited political advocacy, the Court overturned several financial precedents, in addition to allowing for-profit corporations to conduct financial affairs in secret through the use of independent expenditures (Groonwald 1). The Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling represents an unjust and unpatriotic view of American politics, which has led to severe corruption through the use of electioneering communications, secret money, and independent expenditures.
Samples proceeds to examine the connections between political visions and campaign finance. The Progressive vision of politics seeks to restrict and reform campaign finance and believes that economic interests of the elites corrupt politics, and have driven the debate about campaign finance. Progressives believe that government is the victim of the private interests of elites and the solution to their dangerous distinctiveness. Meanwhile, Madisonians believe that government is the problem, and that particular interests, interests of the minority have a right to be heard in the national debate regarding campaign
The general perception of voters is that they are ill-informed and ill-equipped to vote on complex measures. Nonetheless, Ethan Rarick argues that voters generally act rationally and that they “rely on cues such as endorsements from people or organizations they trust to make their decisions.” (143). By providing more information and resources to voters, more constituents will be able to vote wisely and
The Citizens United Ruling made by Supreme Court in 2010 only made the issue of money ruling the elections worse. Its main effects, stated in the video, “paved the way” for big corporations or unions to spend as much money as they feel necessary in elections and the political process. They can utilize this rule through advertisements, messages, and many different ways of communication to potential and up and coming voters. It changed the way campaigns were carried out by not only putting a bigger emphasis on the political spending from candidates and outside organizations, but also in a sense demerits the aspect of democracy, with having the amount money spent on a campaign be noticed more than the voices of the people. Voting does not really represent the country, but rather, represents the rich and powerful of the country.
By restraining the influence of the government on daily life, the United States will be able to return to the great nation of freedom; a nation in which its founding fathers so vehemently fought to build. Similarly, politics should not be controlled strictly according to political parties, and Coolidge urged people to support the values they believe in, not a certain political party. In today’s world, I think many politicians would benefit from acting in the way of doing the right thing, rather than supporting sides merely based on political affiliation. For this reason, I am passionate about educating myself as much as possible to candidates beliefs, and I look forward to being able to take part in my first elections in coming
A democracy is a government in the hands of men not corporations. In a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. F.E.C permitted corporations and unions to make political expenditures from their treasuries directly and through other organizations, as long as the spending is done independently of any candidate. With this court ruling, big business and wealthy individuals have gained an unfair advantage over the political system by utilizing their vast income to influence elections, and other matters of the government. Therefore campaign finance should be reformed because the wealthy individuals and organizations have unlimited control over mainstream media, they are granted access to the government, and foreign countries can secretly influence our government in their favor. Campaign spending is out of control.
For the past century, voter turnout in American presidential elections has significantly declined, likely due to the fact that Americans do not believe their single votes are important. In light of more recent elections, political donations from corporations, identified or anonymous, have infringed upon traditional, American democracy. Although corporate donations to political campaigns have little effect on the public compared to the newly pivotal role of social media, these donations are founded upon a ruling that is classist, undemocratic, and corrupt, leading to unprincipled politics. This ruling is Citizens United, passed January 21, 2010.
As an immigrant who has worked diligently to improve my quality of life, each pillar of the National Honor Society has contributed to my development and success. As a first generation American and future college student, I want to use the lessons I have learned from NHS to make my parents proud, honor their sacrifices, and revere the country that has given me the chance to improve my life. Service has not only humbled and matured me as I have worked at a children’s summer camp for five summers and have led church small groups, but has also helped me realize what I want to do with my life. My service, which has primarily been with underprivileged children, combined with my father’s chronic illness that I have witnessed throughout my life,
I am Densia Wray, a sophomore at City College majoring in Political Science and possibly Public Relations or minoring in Journalism. My decision to pursue these majors came after thoroughly enjoying my Intro to Media Communications and Intro to Political Science classes, as well as my desire to create local and societal change. Although it took a while for me to make this decision, once I started listening to what I really wanted and not what I thought was wanted from me I realized what I really want to do with my life. Ever since my first real introduction to the world and its realities in my high school English classes I knew that my purpose was not to conform to what society wants from me but to challenge society to change. Over the summer
Do you feel insignificant during elections? Do you worry that there is too much money in politics? Do you believe that campaigns are corrupt? All these common worries become real issues in 2010 with Citizens United v. FEC: a Supreme Court ruling that will forever be significant to elections. The Citizens United ruling "opened the door" for unrestricted campaign spending by corporations, but most importantly the case led to the formation of groups called super PACs: corporations or labor unions that have the ability to use its general treasury and unlimited donations to influence elections.
Not just one house, one school, one city, nor one state, but the whole country. Therefore, I believe it is my duty to repay the country by fighting for the values America stands for. Starting middle school, I had a dream to become either an astronomer or a soldier. But, when I started high school, I was sure that I wanted to attend a Service Academy. The decision didn’t come from my transition from junior high to high school.
During the birth of our government, our country’s leaders promised our democracy would be the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.(Bernie Sanders) In our current society, it has been said that our political campaign finance system is corrupt and primarily controlled by billionaires, wealthy donors, and corporations. Many say our government has strayed from the original democracy that our country was built upon. Despite this claim, if monetary restrictions for campaigning were set then there would be controversy due to wealthy supporters and corporations wanting to support political candidates. Millionaires and wealthy organizations might come together to form super PACs.
War between your body and Your Country Walter Reuther is quoted as saying, “There is no greater calling than to serve your fellow men. There is no greater contribution than to help the weak. There is no greater satisfaction than to have done it well.” Joining the military is a significant event of my life. The military has an effect on daily lives, from your personal to professional level.
However, there is a strong public perception that the use of corporate’s money is undermining fairness in the government. It is said that the challenge is trying to balance the First Amendment right of corporations to free political expression against the societal interest of maintaining corrupt-free elections. In the Citizens United v. Federal Election