Week 4 Discussions

Individual Rights and the Obligations of Government

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read chapters 8, 9, and 10 in American Government and watch the video, Episode II – It’s a Free Country.

Reflect: Our political system is characterized by certain fundamental features to include a system of laws, rights, and liberties. The laws, created and supported by the Constitutional framework, are designed to protect and secure the rights and liberties of individuals and groups throughout the U.S. However, the government also has an obligation to provide for the security of its citizens from serious internal and external threats that could cause grave or severe damage to our country. The need for homeland and national security can create a dilemma where conflicts emerge between these security needs and the demands for civil rights and liberties.

Write: In your initial post, explain what obligations the U.S. government has towards its citizens and how can these obligations impact individual and group rights? Provide real-world examples to support your explanation. Fully respond to all parts of the prompt and write your response in your own words. Your initial response must be 200 to 250 words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly.

Week Four Reflection

Prepare: Prior to beginning work on this discussion, read chapters 8, 9, and 10 in American Government, watch the video, Episode II – It’s a Free Country, and review your results from the Political Typology Quiz.

Reflect: Political parties mobilize voters to win elections and implement policy goals. Parties use their stated policy goals (i.e., their platforms) as a way to mobilize voter support. Generally, in order to be successful in a two-party system, parties must have policy goals across a broad range of issue areas to appeal to a broad range of voters.

Write: Identify oneissue area that you want investigate. Use the assigned resources required for this discussion to gather information about the goals and proposals, in that issue area, of three U.S. political parties – the Democratic and Republican parties and a third party. Summarize each of the three parties’ policy goals in your issue area. Evaluate each party’s goals from two perspectives:

• According on your own political philosophy, values, or ideology based on the Political Typology Quiz results, which party’s position on this issue is closest to your own and which is furthest and why?
• Does each party currently have national popular support on this issue? If so, why, and if not, why not?

For example, if you are a ‘Steadfast Conservative,’ what do the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and a third party have to say about your position on taxation? If you are a ‘Solid Liberal,’ what do Democrats, Republicans, and a third party say about your views on environmental issues? Who is the closest? Furthest away? Why?

Your initial response must be 200 to 250 words. Justify your conclusions with facts and persuasive reasoning. Fully respond to all parts of the question and write your response in your own words. Support your position with APA citations to two or more of the assigned resources required for this discussion. Please be sure that you demonstrate understanding of these resources, integrate them into your argument, and cite them properly.

Week Four Learning Activity Worksheet

Develop a detailed outline of your fourth main point.

1. Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections:

1. Provide a paragraph that briefly describes the one positive impact and one negative impact of one of the following: political parties, interest groups, or elections. 

(Use the space below to complete this section.)

1. Provide a paragraph that recommends one option to accentuate the positive impact and one to lessen the negative impact.

(Use the space below to complete this section.)

1. Thesis statement:

1. Provide a thesis statement for the final paper that identifies the main argument and purpose of the paper.

(Use the space below to complete this section.)

1. Scholarly Support: (For assistance with your research, the Ashford University’s Library provides tutorials and recorded webinars on a variety of topics. To access these helpful resources look for the links located under the [email protected] search box on the library home page. For help with writing, please review the APA Style Aid, and Ashford Writing Center’s Sample Annotated Bibliography for additional help.)

1. Provide two credible sources in APA format to support your main points.

(Use the space below to complete this section.)

1. Briefly discuss how these sources support your main points.

(Use the space below to complete this section.)

1. Briefly evaluate your sources for bias, validity, and reliability.

(Use the space below to complete this section.)