Political Parties and Elections in the US - Essay Example

? Political Parties and Elections Political Parties and Elections Introduction A political party is any political organizationthat has an influence on the government policies. The party nominates its candidates to political offices and the candidates advance the party’s policies on the government. It is worth noting that political parties are actively involved in educational outreach, electoral campaigns and protest actions. This implies that a political party wants the best for the people because they oppose government’s actions. The party provides its manifesto, which it uses to reach its set goals. In other circumstances, parties might choose to form coalitions with disparate interests. It has to be acknowledged that parties in the United States are very powerful for they determine the fate of all citizens1. Ambition in Political Parties Politicians are very ambitious people. Although some choose to stay in their current offices for several terms, others aspire to go to higher offices. In addition, some politicians want to be politics for short periods. This implies that it depends with the politician to know his or her ambitions. Career ambition decides the behavior to be exhibited by the politician. His/her hopes and expectations for the future are the main driving force that helps the politician in making decisions. Majority of political leaders possess progressive ambitions and as a result, they aspire for higher offices. Politicians make policies that satisfy the needs of their constituents at the given time and in future, in order to ensure success. It has to be noted that one cannot achieve higher office if s/he lacks ambition2. Although majority of Americans believe that the president is a powerful person who makes all the decisions for the country from white house, Richard Neustadt in his book Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents, believes otherwise. The president’s power is guaranteed in the constitution, the prestige of Washington, abroad, and the country at large. However, article II of the constitution, which defines the powers of the president, does not guarantee that everything that he (presidents) commands he achieves. This means that the president must always ensure that the people around him are persuaded and thus willing to do what he believes is good for the country. The fact that United States of America is a democratic country means that there is separation of powers so the president is not the sole decision maker in the country. The ability and the power to pursued help in ensuring that the policies implemented by the president are able to pass and become law. This can be attributed to the fact that the president in the US does not change legislation alone for it needs approval by the respective houses. If the president is unable to persuade legislators to pass his policies then chances are high that most of these policies will not go through. This is the reason why Neustadt (1990) notes, presidency is not a place for amateurs. Presidents should act in a prospective manner in order to make sure that the decisions he makes today will help him persuade tomorrow3. Power of Politics Obama exercises the power to persuade because he understands that his policies cannot pass without the support other legislators.4On the other hand, Schlesinger acknowledges that the US presidency is becoming too powerful, such that people are not concerned on checking it. He attributes this to the powers that the presidency exercises because of domestic policy, foreign policy, and the affairs that go on in secrecy. Since the president is the commander in chief of the armed forces, he has the authority to defend the United States but the power of declaring war is vested on the congress. This means that the president can make decisions that will cause death or injury to other people who are deemed as a threat to the country5. In his time at the office, Obama has ordered the killing of Somali pirates who had hijacked a ship with American crew. In addition, he ordered the killing of world-renowned terrorist Osama bin Laden. He did not have to ask for permission from the congress to make these decisions. This shows that the president can make decisions that are critical to the country on his own as suggested by Schlesinger. It is of paramount importance to note that these decisions are made in secrecy and are only brought to the public after the execution of the said decision. Although many complain that it took Obama a long time to make the decision, one ought to understand that he made the decision on his own6. Citizenship Presidency in the United States is not a bed of roses because there are those legislators who will not support a president’s decisions even if it is good for the people. This keeps the president in tricky position because he is unable to see the implementation of most of his policies. In other circumstances, it takes a long time to see the light. The president is left with no choice other than persuading other lawmakers in order to win their support. However, in other situations the president has to make critical decisions on his own. This is despite the fact that especially his opponents will criticize him for the decisions7. In order to understand what is going on man has to be fully involved in all conversations that he makes. ‘Response’ includes genuine responsibility whereby one has to listen as well as speak his mind. One should not be interested only on what is been said by the others but he should always think carefully about what he has to say. This will reduce the cases of conflicts if every person is aware that the others have feelings. Jews have always had conflicts with Arabs but according to Buber, the two groups they can use genuine responsibility to come up with solutions to their conflicts. It would be unwise for each group to hide in its cocoon pretending that everything will be okay because there are little chances of the problems going away on their own8. Civic Duty In some instances individuals are not willing to give genuine responsibility a chance because they believe that they are always on the right (Riezler, 1944, pp. 401). Assuming that no one is perfect will go a long way in reducing chances of conflicts because every member of the society will be willing to listen to one another and give a genuine response that will be honest. It is of paramount importance to note that being attentive alone does not guarantee dialogue. Dialogue cannot take place if one party is unwilling to give any response to what is happening. However, it is worth noting that each party must be very attentive to one another or the surrounding in order to be in a position of giving a genuine response to what is being spoken about. A genuine dialogue expects every party in the conversation to respond to what is being said. Keeping quiet even one is attentive prevents dialogue from taking place. This implies that it is important according to Buber for each party to participate in any dialogue9. It is important to understand that not all the people can be the same. This implies that if people could understand the whole human, which can be achieved by respecting the rights of all the other people then many conflicts that are happening around the world, can be eliminated10. Conclusion Many wars that are being fought across the world are because of people failing to respect the rights of the people living around them. If Christians could respect Muslims and then Muslims do the same to Christians and the other religions embrace it, then conflicts could be eliminated. In addition, it is worth noting that all faiths should offer genuine dialogues whereby each party speaks the truth. In most instances, some parties will not be willing to tell the other their true positions and this becomes an ingredient to conflicts. All societies and the people living in them should understand that they need one another for their survival. Dialogue should be given a chance at all times instead of rushing to wars, which just complicate the matters Friedman, 2007). This is because open and genuine dialogue has higher chances of solving conflicts and is cheaper. If dialogue is given a chance, many lives, which are lost during wars, will be saved. In addition, funds that are used in wars can be channeled to other engagements that will increase the value of human lives. Bibliography Madison James, "The Union as a Safeguard against Domestic Faction and Insurrection," From the New York Packet (1787): 1-9. Neustadt, Richard. Presidential Power and the Modern Presidents. (New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1990). Riezler, Kelvin. What Is Public Opinion? Social Research. XI. (New York: McGraw publishers, 1944). Washington's Farewell Address 1796. 1-12. Read More