POLITICS 101: Civil Liberties, Media Influence, and Party Ethics

This essay delves into the complexities of American politics, examining two key civil liberties: the Black Lives Matter movement's fight for equal rights and the restrictions on immigration. It then analyzes two media events that significantly influenced public opinion of government agencies, including the Ruby Ridge standoff and the Las Vegas mass shooting, highlighting the media's role in shaping perceptions. Furthermore, the essay discusses two critical differences between the Republican and Democratic parties—tax policies and abortion stances—and their potential ethical impacts on the American people. The essay references several academic sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of these significant political issues.

Running head: POLITICS 1
Politics
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Two (2) Civil Liberties in America
The past two years has seen an increased activism led by “Black Live Matter” initiative that
has been at the fore front of equal right for all. Over the past several years, protests have
erupted in the US after high profile shooting of black men who are unarmed by the police.
Majority of black people see it as police brutality, discrimination and racism by the majority.
They claim that a white person cannot be shot by police officers under similar
circumstances(Hershey,2017). The black lives matter movement has also highlighted the
racial inequality on the justice system in the United States. As a result, the government has
been put to task in regards to its justice systems considering that prisons in the US have more
black minority that the majority. It is a system that is skewed towards oppressive tendencies
against the black. Parliament in both the senate and the lower house have discussed the
oppressive judicial system and reforms have started to be implemented(Lawson, 2014).
The second civil right is based on the civil rights on restrictions of some people entering the
United States from certain countries. This has also seen round up of illegal immigrants in the
United States to be deported to their respective countries (Schuck, 2018). Civil rights groups
said in a statement that it is discriminatory to restrict new entrants and deport people who
have been in America for long periods curtailing their rights(Moore, Murray, Farrell &Youm,
2017). American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a challenge on President Donald
Trump to challenge the decision. It was a campaign pledge made by president trump to block
Muslims from entering the United States. Restrictive immigration laws hit eight countries
that are predominantly Muslim and which perceived to harbor terrorists. However,
generalization of tendencies by a government is wrong (Lipschultz, 2014). This has led to the
government creating a safe environment for the country. The department of justice in
America. However, judges squashed the ruling and declared it illegal upon appeal by the

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judge. The Muslims have since stopped being profiled due to terrorism although it remains a
highly emotive factor(Hershey, 2017).
Discuss two (2) media events (past or present) that have positively and/or negatively
influenced the public’s opinion of a government agency.
Any particular media event can influence greatly the perception of the public towards the
government or its agency. One of such events is the in depth research at the Ruby Ridge. This
is a site that witnessed a standoff between the federal agents that is the US marshals and the
FBI and the weaver family. This was witnessed at their remote Idaho residence. The standoff
was prompted and instigated by the attempt to issue an arrest warrant against Randy for the
making and possessing illegal arms. Weaver would resist peaceful surrender attempts and a
10 day standoff ensued. In the course of the standoff, Randy’s wife, a US marshal and
Randy’s young son lost their lives. The death of two unarmed civilians led to the public belief
that the federal agencies are ruthless and aggressive in handling civilians matters especially
related to gun ownership. Distrust ensued after the event and was seen again at the Waco
siege in Oregon.
The media plays a major role in public belief, perception and societal change. It plays a major
role in informing the public on what happens in the country and in the world at large. The
2017 mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert which happened in October 1, 2017 at a music
festival. 58 people were confirmed dead in the shoot-out while more than 800 were reported
injured. Federal agencies and US marshals were quick at the scene of the shooting trying to
capture the suspect a 64-year old retiree. His motives have not been known up to now but the
police and other agents tried all their best to kill him putting their lives in danger(Farrell, &
Newman, 2015). For about an hour he fired shots using his semi-automatic machine gun. The
media captured all the event as it happened. The agencies put their lives at risk and helped to

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evacuate thousands of concert attendees. This has put a lot of trust in the US federal agencies
and although many died the situation could have been much worse had it not been the prompt
reaction by the federal agencies (Bertrand,2018).
Discuss two (2) differences between the Republican and Democratic parties that may
have an ethical impact (positively or negatively) on the American people.
Republicans (GOP) and Democrats are the two main parties in the US. Recently, alternative
parties and independents have become prominent although the two parties are historically the
largest parties. They have opposing positions and views on key issues in political, economic
and social matters(Hrebenar, & Scott, 2015).
The issues with greatest contention are;
Taxes
The republicans believe that the poor and the rich should pay the same tax and receive the
same tax cuts. The republicans believe that even if large tax cuts will possibly lead to reduced
government revenues the rich will invest back the money and create more employment thus
creating a trickle down effect. They are also opposed to increase in minimum wage.
The democrats on the other hand are opposed to such and believe in raising the taxes for the
rich and upper class. They also suggest the lowering of taxes for the middle class and the
poor to boost social programs for the lower class through spending. This has led to positive
ethical practices in the federal government in regards to taxes (Smith, 2014).
Abortion
Republicans largely believe that the government should restrict calls on abortion. This is
because they are highly influenced by tradition and religion and fundamentally believe that

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life begins at conception. They are of the idea that an unborn child has fundamental rights
enshrined in the constitution and cannot be taken away.
Democrats on the other hand believe that a woman has the right to make decision regarding
her pregnancy. They argue that instead of enhancing abortion, they government should
reduce the unintended pregnancies by teaching sex education in schools. Awareness will
reduce cases of pregnancies and STIs. This is a positive and ethical situation.

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References
Bertrand, C. J. (Ed.). (2018). Media ethics and accountability systems. Routledge.
Farrell, H., & Newman, A. (2015). The new politics of interdependence: cross-national
layering in trans-Atlantic regulatory disputes. Comparative Political Studies, 48(4),
497-526.
Hershey, M. R. (2017). Party politics in America. Taylor & Francis.
Hrebenar, R. J., & Scott, R. K. (2015). Interest group politics in America. Routledge.
Lipschultz, J. H. (2014). Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and
ethics. Routledge.
Moore, R. L., Murray, M. D., Farrell, M., &Youm, K. H. (2017). Media Law and Ethics.
Routledge.
Lawson, S. F. (2014). Running for freedom: Civil rights and black politics in America since
1941. John Wiley & Sons.
Schuck, P. (2018). Citizens, strangers, and in-betweens: Essays on immigration and
citizenship. Routledge.
Smith, R. (2014). The American anomaly. New York: Routledge.