The American Ideology: Self Reliance, Equality of Opportunity, and Political Freedom - Essay Example

? THE AMERICAN IDEOLOGY: SELF RELIANCE, EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY, AND POLITICAL FREEDOM. Location: American ideologies vary considerably with different individuals and time. In support or opposition of an ideology, Americans tend to fall into groups of liberalists, moderates, or conservatisms. However, liberalism and conservatism are the most prominent ideologies in America. An individual’s ideological position is describable social and economic terms. This discussion focuses on their different views on the issues of self-reliance, equality of opportunity, and political freedom. Self reliance is the conception that free and independent individuals should take responsibility of their social well being (Weir 2007, p. 746). Weir continues to argue that individualism closely relates to self reliance in the United States. However, this issue raises numerous controversies to various people. Since the eras of George Washington after the founding of America to the era of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, Americans had been embracing self reliance. Weir states that one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin is known for his statement “God helps them that help themselves,” which many Americans misunderstood as a quotation from the bible (2007, p. 746). The government of Ronald Reagan since he assumed power as president in January 20, 1981 to 1989 greatly supported the ideology of self reliance. The former president is quoted saying “Every time the government acts, we lose self-reliance, character, and initiative (About.com n.d.). The current government of the United States in the leadership of President Barack Obama does not support self reliance. At a fundraiser in San Francisco in the last week of October 2011, the President warned the audience that if they do not re-elect him, they stand to face a new era of self reliance in America (Fleming 2011). Self-reliance implies that Americans do not stand a chance to rely on the government for provisions such as health care, education or anything they consider as a requirement. Fleming (2011) argues that most Americans would consider it unthinkable to do away with entitlements, they would worry if let to use their own resources. The American federal government takes the active role of including entitlements and safety nets such as retirement saving for its citizens in its budget. However, some Americans support the aspect self reliance because it comes with a sense of freedom. For example, most of the funds used for entitlements come from the taxpayers. The government takes a large share of the taxpayer’s income in the form of tax by using regulations which ensure Americans’ minimal requirements are taken care of. There is a lack of freedom in such situations because taxpayers have no control over what to do with their money. In fact, the government takes its portion before taxpayers can access their share. The main problem arises when needs keep increasing and changing with time. For example, health insurance is a right to the Americans while electricity and water are basic needs. The use of resources to provide the society with basic necessities is the key reason why Americans continue to wallow in dependency. As a nation, America opts not to risk gaining freedom by accepting self reliance. Equal opportunity is the provision that all people should receive similar treatment with the absence of obstacles such as preferences or prejudices and artificial hurdles except in cases where they are justifiable. The provision of equal opportunity supports situations such as offering job prospects to candidates with proper qualifications with the certainty that they can perform ably in the task. It disregards use of connections such as friendships, race, ethnicity, religion, birth relations and involuntary attributes such as sexual orientations, disability and age to whoever has control of offering the job. Equal opportunity provides advancement chances to all parties with interest, and allows them to compete on equal grounds with the use of a framework of goals and rules put in place. The issue of equal opportunity arises with the mention of the American dream. Americans are increasingly sensitive to the idea that equal opportunity is an empty promise. Republicans see tax cuts as the solution, though in the past, these cuts have led to increased inequality in wealth and decreased people’s ability to move to a better class. This results to increases in social stagnation and poverty as wage gains experience a decrease. Alternatively, Democrats disagree with tax reductions and deregulation. Instead, they insist that the state ought to guarantee equal opportunity. They justify the presence of cheap public education, affirmative action and job training on the grounds that American citizens ought to have the skill to compete and that the employment market should treat every person equally. Nonetheless, the two parties differ on means and not on ends. While Republicans acknowledge faith in a self-governing economy, Democrats reason that state interventions are necessary to guarantee equal opportunity. Both agree that equal opportunity denotes the equal opportunity to ascend into the few positions of prestige and social power, or into the economically secure and high earning professions. Although there has been progress since the 1980s, ensuring equal opportunity for American citizens remains an elusive goal. Constant utilization of equal opportunity programs is crucial to help crash barriers to prospects and make certain that all Americans have a fair opportunity to display their talents and abilities.  Political freedom describes the presence of a liaison that has enabling conditions but is free of oppression and disabling conditions. It not only frees an individual from external constraints but also enhances positive exercising of one’s capabilities, and rights. Even after the 80s, political freedom in America has been characterized by free participation of American citizens in the political process and freedom to associate and assembly (Freedomhouse n.d.). Other features include voting freely in legitimate elections, election of representatives who are accountable to the citizen, and exercise of freedom of belief and expression. Further, all citizens are governed by an equitable law system. Lastly, political freedom ensures that Americans have both economic and social freedoms which include rights to own private property and equal access to other economic prospects (Freedomhouse n.d.). In recent times, there is much debate over the issue of political freedom. For example, liberals assert that individuals should be left to make own choices with minimal interference; thus liberalism would not support banning the sale of pornographic materials to consenting adults. On the other hand, conservatives support imparting of social and moral values in people. Thus, they would argue that pornographic material should be banned (Brenkert 2012). A third argument is from the radicals who would support banning of the materials because they declare that it oppresses women’s rights, and they do not allow oppression of their members. Brenkert (2012) demonstrates that another way to examine the different ways that these groups define and exercise political freedom is by looking at the voting process. Liberals affirm that political freedom ensures that all adult citizens actively participate in voting. This way, individuals can protect their matters and control the power of the government. Conservatives argue that people can experience political freedom even with limits to processes such as voting. On this issue, radicals claim that although freedom necessitates for societal participation, participation is not of active importance. According to them, participation cannot be found in a community whose public matters are political. These are just some of the arguments in which these three groups differ regarding political freedom. List of References About.com (n.d.) American History: Ronald Reagan Fast Facts [online] available from [7 November 2012] Brenkert, G. George. (2012) Political Freedom [online] available from [7 November 2012] Fleming, J. Frank. (2011) ‘The ‘Self-reliance’ Menace’. The New York Post [online] available from [7 November 2012] Freedomhouse.org (n.d.) What are Political Freedoms? [online] available from < http://civics.councilforeconed.org/documents/978-1-56183-662-8-visuals-lesson- 16.pdf> [7 November 2012] Weir, E. Robert. (2007) Class in America: Q-Z [Online] available from [7 November 2012] Read More