The role of law and government is to ensure that the natural liberties of its people are protected and that the nation-state itself is safeguarded from harm. To guarantee that these objectives are met, a government must possess two principles: to recognize that antithetical dualities exist, and to rule accordingly. It is noteworthy to mention that both principles must be present for a government and its law to be effective. If, by any chance, one is absent, the government and its established laws are useless.
Throughout history, both bad and good leaders have governed for a specific purpose. Some ruled for the purpose of achieving great power. Others ruled for the purpose of acquiring wealth. Nonetheless, looking at the perspective of great leaders, they ruled with one common goal: protecting the rights of their citizens. James Madison, one of the founding fathers of America, proposed that church and state should be separate in order to have a free society (417). He argued that, if religion coexisted with government, the people’s right to believe in what they want would be violated (423). Martin Luther King, Jr., a major advocate for civil rights in America, proposed that segregation and unjust laws should be abolished in the name of justice and fairness (426). Aung San Suu Kyi, a political leader,
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Humans are imperfect creatures; as such, dualities always coexist with their conjugates. Examples of antithetical dualities include love and fear, parsimony and liberality, and truth and deceit. As society is capable of having a person who can live with honesty, society is also capable of having a person who can live with deceit. Even in the physical realm, objects exist in antithetical dualities. There is the earth. Its conjugate is the sky. As such, everything exists in antithetical
James Madison once said,” All men having power ought to be distrusted.” Through these words, Madison made the statement that not all government officials use their authority for good; some abuse that power and use it to gain more for themselves rather than vesting it within the people. This issue may lead to tyranny. Tyranny is when all powers belong to only one person or group. In May of 1787, the Constitutional Convention was held in Philadelphia to draft a better constitution. One of the topics that concerned many was how the constitution would guard against tyranny. Madison and the other delegates wanted a Constitution that would be strong enough to unite the states and the people together without letting there be one person or group gain too much power. They achieved this in several ways. Today, the U.S. Constitution guards against tyranny by including a separation of powers, federalism, and the fair representation of states.
The men who wrote the American constitution agreed with Thomas Hobbes that humans were naturally evil. Therefore, they agreed that in order to prevent a dictatorship or monarchy, the citizens should have influence in the government. The writers wanted a more ideal constitution, but they realized evil human motives would never change. One of the main goals of the constitution was to create a balanced government that would allow the citizens to prevent each other from being corrupt. The writers wanted to give citizens liberty, but they did not want to give people so much liberty that they would have an uncontrollable amount of power. The writers agreed that a citizen’s influence in government would be proportionate to that individual’s property.
During his entire life, James Madison, who is one of the founding fathers, contributed many dedications to the States, especially when creating the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. As the fourth president of the U.S, he consciously chose to create a new model of presidential power that he thought would fit better with the system of the separation of powers after seeing “the danger overwrought executive power poses to republican constitutionalism” (Kleinerman). Despite of having such good intention, some of his actions led the country through some significant suffers.
...d goal was a government that was elected and not one that had absolute rule. He makes this evident by saying, " An whole Government of our own Choice, managed by Persons whom We love, revere, and can confide in, has charms in it for which Men will fight" (102). Similarly, Thomas Paine also believes in the idea of a lovable government, " Let the assemblies be annual, with a President only. The representation more equal" (96).
Although no one government system is perfect, Madison’s views on government systems helped depict which type would work out better for our society. Federalist No.10 not only gives warning about outcomes that may occur within a society without the constitution, but also gives guidance on how to become a more civil.
Madison illustrates the concept of power the government will have and sort of corrects any misjudgments about the potential government. Madison points out that if humans all had good intentions then there will be no need for the law. This allows the people to see that they need a solid government. He goes back to tell the people that they must give the government a chance to help them and rule them in the right direction. The governmental branches to be creates will all carry equal amounts of power, he reassures that the executive himself will not carry as much power as it seems. Madison describes the two methods of avoiding evil as; one the strong government that will be created, independent of from the influence of those who possess bad objectives and two, because society is diverse, the little division will not majorly influence the government. The idea of Madison’s speech revolves around the freedom of society, but with freedom comes power in the people, which he reassures the government will keep at bay. We can see that the Federalist papers number 10 and 51 helps us to understand the meaning behind the Constitution and why it was
From matters concerning who should govern, to the structure of government, to the economy, as well as foreign affairs, Jefferson and Hamilton could not agree. Jefferson, a strong advocate for the protection of individual liberties, made an assertion regarding the freedom of religion in his Notes on the State of Virginia. “But our rulers can have authority over such natural rights, only as we have submitted to them,” (Jefferson, 345). Though Jefferson and Hamilton can agree as much to this regard, the authority to which a government is given, is given by the people. However, Hamilton was not a strong advocate for the constant freedom of individual liberties. Instead, Hamilton thought that individual liberties, such as freedom of speech and/or religion, ought to be restricted at times. Jefferson reiterated his position on the protection of religious freedom when he claimed, “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no god,” (Jefferson, 345). Jefferson recognizes the lack of injury that results from conscious beliefs. If it is simply a belief or opinion, and does no harm to another, what purpose would restriction or oppression of this particular belief serve? If nothing else, it serves the purpose of doing none other than oppressing. “That ours is but one of that thousand. That if there be but one right, and ours that one, we should wish to see the 999 wandering sects gathered into the fold of truth. But against such a majority we cannot effect this by force,” (Jefferson, 346). Seemingly an appeal to logic, Jefferson makes a compelling argument about the multitude of religions that inhabit the world. In all reality, religion is but simply an opinion, an opinion that has served as the cause of wars and blood spilled
During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms. Assuring the people, both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison insisted the new government under the constitution was “an expression of freedom, not its enemy,” declaring “the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.” (Foner, pg. 227) The checks and balances introduced under the new and more powerful national government would not allow the tyranny caused by a king under the Parliament system in Britain. They insisted that in order achieve a greater amount of freedom, a national government was needed to avoid the civil unrest during the system under the Articles of Confederation. Claiming that the new national government would be a “perfect balance between liberty and power,” it would avoid the disruption that liberty [civil unrest] and power [king’s abuse of power in England] caused. The “lackluster leadership” of the critics of the new constitution claimed that a large land area such as America could not work for such a diverse nation.
The strongest phrase in Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter, “…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,…” goes to the heart of American strength. It provides the foundation upon which this nation’s strength and resolve is built. It is the groundwork laid to allow American citizens to be who they are without government interference and that freedom allows the citizens to learn and grow from each other, building the foundation with the strength of cultural and religious diversity. America was built on this foundation and it is instilled in the heart of every proud American citizen. The content of this single letter and the resultant mirrored text within the United States Constitution has not only defined the way American society functions, but has lead to the growth of the country’s diversity and power in the world as a whole. The effect of separation of church and state in the United States evolved through hard won struggles and battles, resulting in great diversity among ...
In order to secure the rights of everyone, the system of checks and balances is necessary. It is not only for protection from the oppression of society’s rulers but also the injustice of one fraction of society to another. If the governed suspects that the legislative has abused its authority, such as using its powers for personal gains, then by the system of checks and balances, the people are allowed to allocate the legislative into new hands. This is a positive aspect of the constitution because it gives power to the people and not just those in the government. However, not all aspects of the system of checks and balances makes the constitution positive.
“All human beings are commingled out of good and evil” Robert Louis Stevenson once said. In this one of a kind novel entitled The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by the wonderful Robert Louis Stevenson. Throughout this literary work, the idea of good vs evil as well as your dark side being tough to handle is greatly expressed. Which is why the theme of this novel is good versus evil and having trouble controlling your dark side. Now some people may believe that your good side almost always triumphs over your bad side mnly becasue thats what wither see or hear about, the yin and yang sign for good and evil is perfectly balanced, and some others may believe that a person cannot have two completely opposite personalities.
The text "Dueling Dualism" by Anne Fausto-Sterling claim is that sex and gender are constructed. Scientist construct gender and sex through their research and studies and this creates the way society views sex and gender. Sterling writes, "... human sexuality created by scholars in general and by biologists, in particular, are one component of political, social, and moral struggles about our cultures... At the same time... incorporated into our very physiological being... Biologists...in turn refashion our cultural environment"(Sterling,5). Sterling, sure enough, realizes how sexuality is viewed by biologist but also how it can change the perspectives of sexuality in a society. Biologist have "refashion our cultural environment" and are reshaping
A key feature of the unwritten constitution is ‘the Separation of Powers’. This exercises the idea of independence within ‘different functions of government’; it is represented by the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Separating the three prevents a dangerous occurrence where power is entirely centralized in one group. Cooperating with one...
The central aim of this essay will be to support the legal-positivist that law and morality are strictly separable. In its simplest form many understand legal positivism to be the existence and content of law, which depends on social facts, and not on its merits. I will engage closely with the work of John Austin and his concept of law, which offered a developed and progressive piece of work from Bentham, focusing on Austin’s The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832) in order to demonstrate one of the earlier accounts of legal positivism. By exploring Austin’s theory of sovereignty, in which he outlines that in every state there exists an authority to which a large mass of citizens show compliance, I will address the consideration that
Law is one of the most important elements that transform humans from mere beasts into intelligent and special beings. Law tells us what is right and wrong and how we, humans, should act to achieve a peaceful society while enjoying individual freedoms. The key to a successful nation is a firm, strong, and fair code of high laws that provides equal and just freedom to all citizens of the country. A strong government is as important as a firm code of law as a government is a backbone of a country and of the laws. A government is a system that executes and determines its laws. As much as fair laws are important, a capable government that will not go corrupt and provide fair services holds a vital role in building and maintaining a strong country.