Artifact The states’ rights position declares that the states should have as much power as the federal government and should have the same amount of responsibility as the federal government when confronting the issues of the nation. This position argues that the states were the ones to make and approve of the Constitution; therefore they should be able to address other policy issues, especially ones not specifically delegated to the federal government as stated in the10th Amendment. Also, states’ rights supporters desire to restrict the amount of power and intervention the federal government has. The legalization of same sex marriage is a highly controversial issue throughout the nation; however, support of the legalization is gaining support. Through this legalization, it means equality for those of same – sex couples in the workplace, through medical and tax benefits, and recognition of the marriage by the state. When the Supreme Court denied the Defense of Marriage Act and found it unconstitutional, thirteen states refused to follow the court decision and denied to recognize same sex marriages. Also, the Supreme Court approved the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, an act that does not allow people to be discriminated against based off of the sexual orientation or gender identification of the employee; unfortunately, the House of Representatives did not approve. President Obama also failed to advocate for gay rights. Although the Supreme Court allowed for same – sex marriage in the United States, the states’ chose to take the decision into their own hands. Through United States v. Windsor, the states took the liberty to see the decision ultimately one up to the states. There has been increasing support throughout same sex marriage. The federal court combats the resist by denying the same – sex marriage bans. Works Cited 1. Jost, Kenneth. "Gay Rights.". http://library.cqpress.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqr_ht_gay_rights_2014&source=home&PHPSESSID=jd1h8mi9f1j7bpp66ic2uu0tr1 (accessed June 22, 2014). | Reflection The States' Rights assignment helped me grow as a student because I was able to research an issue we are having with the current system and apply it to what I am learning today. I found an article pertaining to gay marriage and issues of state control and federal control of the matter. The power struggle between the states as separate entities and as a whole is a difficult concept to digest. The United States is one of the best countries to live in because of our fundamental ideas of freedom and empowerment of the people. Unfortunately, we have many problems with our political structure because so many people so fight for power and control. Supposedly, everything is willed by the people, but many people's ideas are not represented in the government. In every situation there are big winners and big losers, which continues to fuel the nature of this country. Ultimately, I learned through this assignment that you continuously have to fight for what you believe in on multiple levels of power. Through this assignment, I am motivated to become more involved with politics. I will start my following political matters in the news more and start researching possible political candidates for the 2016, and see what things I like about the candidates and what things I do not like. |
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For the Summer 2014 term, I decided to take Intro to American Government at Pasadena City College. I am currently enrolled at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and need to still fulfill my General Education requirements. I have immensely improved my studying skills, as well as added to my overall knowledge of American Government. Due to the fact that this course is only 8 weeks and online, I believe that I was able to truly experience a disciplined courses that is highly dependent on independent learning. At the beginning of this course, I wanted to work on my nature of procrastination, to improve my writing and grammar, and to find a new appreciation for American Government. After this course, I believe that I was able to accomplish all of these goals to a certain degree.
Throughout this course, I really struggled with time management because of my busy summer schedule. I work a part time job, volunteered at a summer camp, travelled to the Philippines, participate in activities for my sorority, and devote time to my family and friends. I had to really work on my time management skills and discipline for this course because it is online. I tend to work better in class because it is more lecture based and relies on in class tests, rather than writing assignments, SoftChalk assignments, and projects. A lot of the time I had connectivity issues because I was in many different locations. I learned that you need to do work early, in the case that you cannot upload your work at the time. For this course, you have to submit many assignments that require you to research and write things in your own words. I have a hard time conveying my ideas over text and tend to use wording that does not make sense. Through this course, I learned to condense my writing and refine ideas. In discussions, it was nice to have feedback because then students are able to tell you the things that they like and how to improve for the next time. Overall, I believe that this course is essential to my growth as a student because it challenged me in my weaknesses and appealed to topics that interest me. I was able to connect the assignments and projects we did to me, and how they pertain to my life. |