America’s Democracy History: Constitutional Perspectives

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Constitution
Federalism
Branches of Government
Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

The principles of democracy have been an integral part of the American political system for quite a while. Being based on the key tenets of the U.S. Constitution, the American governmental system is supposed to represent people and their interests; however, because of the flaws thereof, the execution of the laws in question may need improvement.

Because of the lack of cohesion between certain elements of the American political system, particularly, the lack of congruence between the representatives of different political parties, the numerous interpretations of some of the statements in the U.S. Constitution, etc., the current political system may need a more rigid set of principles to be guided by and a more elaborate strategy to facilitate the coexistence of different political parties.

The Constitution

Created in 1767 and ratified in 1788, the U.S. Constitution serves as the basis for the promotion of equality and justice in the United States. Though being the foundation for the political and legal systems of the United States, the Constitution has problems along with it numerous strengths. As far as the issues regarding the U.S. Constitution are concerned, the fact that some of the statements listed in it have a very high ambiguity value; thus, the threat of misinterpreting them either unwillingly or purposefully emerges.

Indeed, the misuse of the statements provided in the Constitution may lead to drastic effects; for instance, these principles can be taken out of their context, including the era when the document was written, to produce societal tension and spawn numerous conflicts between various denizens of the U.S. population (Azevedo, 2015).

The Constitution, however, serves as a very solid foundation for the further development of equality-based relations in the U.S. society. The Constitution, therefore, allows for the creation of the society, in which relationships are based on the principles of equality, and in which no instances of discrimination occur.

In other words, it is the protection of rights, which the U.S. Constitution guarantees that makes the document in question so important to the development of the American society and the evolution of the U.S. political system as well as the principles of justice that the society is based on (14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, n. d.). In other words, the American Constitution can be viewed as the tool for creating the environment, in which the relationships based on transparency and equity may be possible (Dom, 2014).

Federalism

Addressing the reforms made by the agencies of the U.S. federal bureaucracy over the past few decades, one must mention the policies regarding the consumption and disposal of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Adopted in 2002 (), the National Policy regarding the use and trade of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives can be deemed as quite efficient as far as the methods of addressing the topical issue are concerned.

By creating the body that is supposed to handle solely the issues related to the policy in question, the U.S. government contributed to the reinforcement of control over the subject matter and imposture of a more rigid set of measured onto the people violating the U.S. laws. Therefore, the creation of the committee mentioned above can be viewed as the foundation for managing the subject matter in a more efficient manner.

One must also admit, though, that the design of the body that could address the issues related to drug abuse and trafficking, as well as tobacco and alcohol consumption and production, has caused a rapid increase in bureaucracy rates.

Though the latter cannot be interpreted solely from the negative perspective, since it introduces order into the legislative system and fosters an elaborate structure of subordination, therefore, making it easy to delegate responsibilities (Krouse, 2012), it clearly prevents the implementation of the policies in question in a timely and efficient manner.

Moreover, the bureaucracy issue may shift the focus from the problem regarding misuse of substances to the issues regarding the arrangement of the organization’s internal processes. In other words, the increased bureaucracy rates, which are the direct effect of the Bureau creation, may hamper the process of managing the misuse of substances among the U.S. population, therefore, leading to ma sharp increase in crime rates and the number of victims.

The problems mentioned above can be managed with the help of the reconsideration of the manner, in which RAFTE addresses the issue in question. Particularly, the benefits of the committee can be enhanced by introducing advanced technology into the framework of the agency’s operations.

E-tools will help arrange the information gathered by the members of the agency as well as analyze it properly so that the data concerning drug traffickers, substance addicts, etc., should provide basis for the further analysis of the situation and the search for the solutions to the substance misuse and trafficking issue (Ritter, 2015).

The effects of the disadvantage of the committee, in their turn, can be reduced considerably by incorporating a set of rigid values and principles into the framework of the committee operations. As long as the staff members have a clear list of objectives to be accomplished, there will be no time for procrastination. Moreover, when provided with clear guidelines concerning their roles and responsibilities, the RAFTE members are likely to be more motivated to perform efficiently (Phillips et al., 2015).

Branches of Government

When it comes to defining the strengths of the executive branch of the American political system, one must give the current principles adopted in the U.S. credit for the elaborate strategy of bills approval. Seeing that every single bill, which is passed by the Congress, needs to be approved by the President prior to coming into force, it can be assumed that the executive branch of the American legislation controls the bills passed and prevents the legal system from becoming corrupted. Serving as the mediator between the Congress and the residents of the United States, the executive branch of the American government reinforces objectivity and impartiality in the realm of the U.S. political system (Brinkman & Garren, 2011).

However, the Executive branch of the American government also has its weaknesses, the human factor being the most obvious one. Although the President is supposed to be fully impartial when considering bills suggested by the government, the effect of personal convictions and opinions of an individual is not to be underrated. Therefore, the objectivity of the judgments passed by the executive branch may be compromised (Welch, 2013).

Since the advantages of the Executive system outlined above are linked directly to the problems that it has, the same tools can be used for enhancing the above-mentioned strength and stifling the weaknesses. Particularly, the promotion of ethical values and the basic principles of objectivity and impartiality are to be established as the standards that the Executive branch of the American government must uphold to when considering the bills suggested by the Congress or making any other decision that somehow affects the wellbeing of the U.S. residents.

Political Parties, Interest Groups, and Elections

The abundance of political parties, which the U.S. political system can be characterized by, shapes the lives of the American residents to a considerable degree. In fact, the reasonability of the very existence of the subject matter has been questioned quite a lot of times because of the controversy that surrounds it. Specifically, the discord between the political parties in question needs to be brought up.

Therefore, the impact of political parties on the legal system of the United States and the wellbeing of its residents is rather dubious. On the one hand, it promotes democracy by introducing the U.S. government to the concept of the plurality of opinions. Seeing that different parties provide different view[points on the same economic, political and social issues occurring in the state, they can be viewed as a catalyst for the promotion of democracy in the United States and the key tools for keeping the principles thereof as the foundation for decision-making processes ion the government.

On the other hand, the fact that political parties create a rather uncomfortable situation in the U.S. government due to the possible tension between the parties in question. There is no need to stress that the presence of political forces, which aim at different goals and, even in the cases when they pursue a single objective, seek for different and sometimes the opposite means of achieving them, conflicts are unavoidable. Therefore, the promotion of the multi-party political system, which currently exists in the United States, may trigger a serious disruption in the political balance due to the conflicts between the representatives thereof.

The reinforcement of the ethical and democratic values that the American government is based on can be viewed as the only solution to the problem. Although the approach provided above is rather lengthy and its effects are far from being immediate, it will still trigger a significant drop in tension rates among the representatives of the opposing viewpoint; as a result, the members of the political parties will be able to work towards achieving the common goals set by the government and called for improving the quality of life for the U.S. citizens.

Conclusion

Although the present-day U.S. political system is based on the principles of democracy and is allegedly supposed to promote equality, the current state of the American political system indicates that there might be certain tension among the political parties. Moreover, the ambiguity of some of the postulates of the Constitution does not allow for the establishment of complete clarity in the designated area.

Consequently, it is highly desirable that the premises for transparency could be created avoid any further misunderstandings and facilitate the further development of equity in the American society on all levels, including the political one. The goal in question can be attained by promoting a statutory interpretation of the aforementioned ambiguity. As soon as the premises for equity provided by the U.S. Constitution are created, and the multiple parties operating in the contemporary political system find points of contact, a considerable improvement of the American political, legal, and social environments can be expected.

Reference List

14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. (n. d.). Web.

Azevedo, A. A. (2015). No salvation through Constitutions. Independent Review, 20(1), 33-46.

Brinkman, R., & Garren, S. (2011). Synthesis of climate change policy in judicial, executive, and legislative branches of US government. PORTAL: Journal of Multidisciplinary International Studies, 8(3), 1-26.

Dorn, J. A..(2014). Equality, justice, and freedom: a constitutional perspective. CATO Journal, 34(3), 491-517.

Krouse, W. J. (2012). The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Budget and operations for FY2011. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service.

Phillips, C. D., Nwaiwu, O., Lin, S.-h., Edwards, R., Imanpour, S., & Ohsfeldt, R. (2015). Concealed handgun licensing and crime in four states. Journal of Criminology, 2015(803742), 1–8.

Ritter, N. (2015). Study identifies ways to improve ATF ballistic evidence program. Web.

Welch, M. (2013). Be paranoid: we’re only beginning to learn what the executive branch can do to us. Reason, 45(5), 2.

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