A citizenship test is a test for those who wish to become a naturalized citizens for the United States. The citizenship test should be required to take for individuals that want to maintain their citizenship. It helps us become an informed citizenry. An informed citizenry is one that knows or seeks to know how the different aspects of politics, geology, sociology, environment and economy that are prevalent and how to affect them. However, the citizenship test should be unlimited. According to USCIS, if you fail the citizenship test twice, you cannot become a naturalized U.S citizen and deny your application. Everyone should have as many chances as they can if they are really passionate about wanting to become a hard working American and have opportunities. Immigrants also shouldn’t be the only group of people to take the test. Even natural born Americans should at least take the test to prove themselves that they at least know the basic gist of American history and government. In order to do that, there has to be a democratic republic. A democratic republic refers to a form of government …show more content…
As stated in the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments, all citizens, no matter their race, gender, or how old above 18 they are, have the right to vote. That statement also implies that citizens have the right not to vote. It also will cause the results to be unjust. If people are fined, the majority of people who don’t have much knowledge in politics can lead to many uninformed voter voting. Uninformed voters are more easily persuaded from advertisements and people, which can lead to an unqualified or unjust candidate be put into office. However, it does have the advantage of helping the welfare of America. The country as a whole may become more politically literate and they might actually learn what their positions on different issues are, allowing them to make very informed decisions about their
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary Democracy is a form of government by the people; especially: rule of the majority(Webster). This is what the United States is represented as, and this is based on the United States Constitution from which the United states draws all legal powers. In Robert Dahls book How democratic Is the American Constitution? He challenges this idea by trying to appeal to his readers in a way that they may view the United States Constitution in a different light. Dahl does this by pointing out flaws that the Constitution has and, draws on facts based on the other democracies around the world that the United States is compared too. He points out how many democratic ideas and innovations have a occurred since the conception of the American Constitution yet it has only adopted some of those idea.
Democracy is the structure of government still used today in many countries.The definition of democracy is a system of government where people who rule directly are freely elected representatives.In addition, democracy comes from the Greek word demokratia. Demo meaning people and kratia meaning power of rule. For instance, here is an example, Great Britain has a democratic government since elected officials and laws are voted on by the people and also the representatives they elect. Therefore Athens exemplifies a democratic government. “Athenians would meet and vote on a simple question …. is anyone becoming a threat to democracy? If a simple majority voted yes,then they dispersed and reassembled two months later,
Adding restrictions of voting such as implementing fines will utterly change the prevalence of our nature in our country. In source #1 (“Telling Americans to Vote , or Else) by William A. Galston, mandatory voting is straightforwardly civic. A democracy can’t be strong if its citizenship is weak. And right now American citizenship is attenuated-strong on rights, weak on responsibilities. In 1924, Australia adopted mandatory voting and required costly fines if individuals didn’t participate to vote but why pay a fine that is equal to a traffic ticket than to not register a simple vote. As Abraham Lincoln states, “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish
The framers of the constitution created the Democratic Republic, these are just some of the features that define the Democratic Republic. First is that a Democratic Republic is both a republic and a democracy. Democracy is based upon the majority rule and a person’s individual rights. A Democracy protects against all powerful central governments and transfer government to regional and local levels, and is a political system for choosing who should be in office based on free,and fair elections. Also makes sure that there is a protection of human rights. Citizens get the right to vote.
Democracy is a Greek word meaning “rule by the people.” The idea of a democratic government began in Greece in 700 B.C, about twenty-five hundred years ago. Rome was so large that not everyone could play a role in government so the Roman citizens elected representatives to speak and act for them. This form of government was called a republic. The United States has a representative form of government.
America's Democracy The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system.
When the founding fathers of the United States met together to create a new government system, they had imagined a system that limited government power and protected the rights of the individuals. The framers wanted popular consent but with limits on the amount of power the majority would be allowed. A republican government, by definition, celebrates freedom and individual rights but views too much government and majority rule as threats to individuals. (pg. 5) A democratic government is ruled by the majority without consideration of the thoughts or wellbeing of the minorities.
because some immigrants who are trying to get the U.S citizenship may have their several reasons of getting the citizenship, maybe because of dangerous things that might be happening in their various countries, which might be some people may be planning to harm them, so they came to America to save their life’s. Because they belief that America is more secured, than some of their countries, in the area of security. I do not see the reason why the U.S citizenship should be harder to give out to the immigrants who are trying to save their life’s from the bad people in their various countries. On the other hand, reinterpreting the 14th amendment should be a good idea, because the parent might want her own son or daughter to become a U.S citizen. in other words, “ a parent from a poor country, writes professor Lino graglia of the university of Texas law school, “ can hardly do more for a child than make him or her an American citizen entitled to all the advantages of the American welfare state” therefore, “ it is difficult to imagine a more irrational and self defeating legal system than one which makes unauthorized entry into this country a criminal offense and simultaneously provides perhaps the greatest possible inducement to illegal
On the contrary, citizens should be required to vote. For example, text 1 line 20 states "A democracy can't be strong, if its citizenship is weak"; therefore when being forced to vote against our own will, it is to strengthen our nation. In addition, if the turnout rates are high, then political parties reaches out to the citizens. As a result, the voices of the less educated and the poorer Americans will be heard and not ignored. Not to mention, William A. Galston states that voting evens out the inequalities stemming from income, education, and age in text 1. Most importantly, mandatory voting only benefits us a nation and individually. Clearly, compulsory voting should be enforced.
Cambridge dictionary defines democracy as the belief in freedom and equality between people, or a system of government based on this belief, in which power is held by elected representatives or directly by the people themselves. Democracy has been in existence for at least 2,500 years, and is believed to have originated in Ancient Athens. Plato’s critique of democracy is thought provoking. Plato claims that democracy is a stage of political being, he believes believed that from oligarchy comes democracy, and from democracy comes tyranny . Many of Plato’s critiques critiques of democracy are logical, for example, Socrates (??? Aristotle or Plato???)says “For surely in a city under a democracy you would hear that this [freedom] is the finest
Democracy is a form of government in which qualified citizens can vote leaders that hold power over them. A democracy allows the citizens to be involved in the development of new laws and the general expansion. The word "democracy" comes from two Greek words. The first Greek word that makes up democracy is "demos" meaning the people. The second Greek word that makes up democracy is "kratia" meaning power or authority. A democracy can only exist where there is total freedom. Democratic governments are seen in many countries globally.
Samuel Adams (1722 - 1803), an American patriot and politician, once stated, "Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason"[1]. This statement is significant, as it undermines two of the primary ethical doctrines in philosophy - the deontological perspective defended by Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) in Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (634), and utilitarianism, supported by John Stuart Mill (1806 - 1873) in his essay, Utilitarianism (667). Deontology and utilitarianism are contrasting theories. The former focuses on the intrinsic moral worth of our actions, whereas the latter argues that the consequences of our actions determine their moral value. Nevertheless, both perspectives substantiate Mill's claim that "our moral faculty.is a branch of our reason, not of our sensitive faculty" (678). Reason is an indispensable aspect of Kant's deontological view, as he believes the will is a capacity unique to rational beings. In Kant's opinion, the will is essential, as it facilitates our ability to act according to the universalizable maxims we establish for ourselves (653). Reason is also a crucial element of utilitarianism, as it is the intellectual faculty that enables us to distinguish the course of action with the best possible outcome (i.e., the choice that will ensure the greatest happiness or least amount of pain for as many people as possible) (688). However, since both deontology and utilitarianism are governed by the notion that moral judgements are established through reason, can either theory apply in circumstances in which rational thought is not feasible? For example, during World War II, a Nazi soldier offers a ...
A memorable expression said by President Abraham Lincoln reads, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people, and for the people”. Democracy, is a derived from the Greek term "demos" which means people. It is a successful, system of government that vests power to the public or majority. Adopted by the United States in 1776, a democratic government has six basic characteristics: (i) established/elected sovereignty (where power and civic responsibility are exercised either directly by the public or their freely agreed elected representative(s)), (ii) majority rule(vs minority), (iii) (protects one’s own and reside with) human rights, (iv) regular free and fair elections to citizens (upon a certain age), (v) responsibility of
One of the contemporary definitions of democracy today is as follows: “Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives; Rule by the majority” (“Democracy” Def.1,4). Democracy, as a form of government, was a radical idea when it manifested; many governments in the early history of the world were totalitarian or tyrannical in nature, due to overarching beliefs that the strong ruled over the weak.
Democracy refers to a system of governance in which the supreme powers are vested in the hands of people and is exercised by them indirectly or directly through a system of representation which involves periodic free and fair elections (http://www.zesn.org.zw/publications/publication_280.pdf). Most importantly, the rule of is needed to ensure that governors are held accountable through elections that are free and fair (Rose, R 2009)