Beliefs and values

Thèmes abordés

Beliefs and values, UBS, federal government

Résumé du document

There is a tension between the federal government and the states' government, the idea is where does the government stop and let people live their lives? So, there is a tension between the need to limit the government and the needs to ensure it because we do expect a good government, people have varied expectation of the government.

One thing that brings about these contradictions about differences in places is that the U.S, by nature, is a fragmented country, especially in the way that it is governed and devolved, the idea of decentralizing.

It has been the federal government that has been the protector of these values more than the states. At local levels, any kind of violation of these rights (liberty, individualism…) has been taking place, basically in the states. It is always in the states that these violations occur, it's up to the federal government to solve these problems, the states would do that also but it is more often the federal government who come to correct the violations of the Constitution, things which are not constitutional.

Extraits

[...] They jump over their states and can go to the federal government. Although, Americans are in favor of people to have their rights of free speech and free opinion, they have not always been in favor of giving everyone equal rights. From example the question of civil rights, people expressing themselves as far as segregation goes or as far as gay rights goes, they were not always allowed to do this very freely until the WWII. -political and religious beliefs This comes more clearly in the question of political beliefs. [...]

[...] Democrats even today have a tendency to favor looking after these groups and after people who somehow are disadvantaged by discrimination or physical handicap. For example, Johnson (Democrat) instituted a lot of Welfare programs, giving money to people in need: the main part of this Welfare program was a program called AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), this program was designed to go to single mothers with children that they were in charge of. In theory, this money was for life. [...]

[...] -especially concerning racial acceptance, freedom of expression and criminal procedural rights For a long time, many states had different practices, many states have different ways of dealing with these people who committed different crimes. The problem is that the states are not coordinated as far as the laws go, so the federal government come and try to have equality for all people. Liberty -Americans generally support free speech and opinion Generally, American beliefs are regarding the free speech (1st Amendment). Americans are very concerned about protecting their opinion. They support the 1st Amendment and the right to free speech. [...]

[...] Princeton University Press. [...]

[...] The idea is to protect the individuals. Minorities are important. If one person feels that his rights are violated, he can complain. -Self-reliance: Americans are expected to rely on themselves, to depend on anyone else but themselves and this includes the government. -Economic individualism: -Employment is essential for Americans, if they don't have a job, they are dependent on the government. -Acceptance of job insecurity: Americans are willing to accept the fact that their employer can fire them in 2 weeks, this is the rule in the United States. [...]