American National Government Issues - Essay Example

American National Government Abraham Lincoln, who was the sixteenth president of the United s of America, has is in my view the greatest president in the history of the country. This partly is due to the fact that he guided the nation through some of the most difficult times in the country’s history, including the civil war according to Hodge and Nolan (107). Lincoln served as president during the civil war, and he continuously fought to maintain the unity of his country. Lincoln was a leader when slavery was rampant in the U.S. and he fought against it owing to his belief in the enjoyment of civil liberties by all humans. Great leaders never wait for power to come their way and so they pursue it in all ways possible. As seen in Lincoln’s case, he fought to ensure greater command of the federal troops and generally took control and responsibility of the war. Abraham Lincoln was an honest and trustworthy leader which gave him the ability to handle complicated and difficult issues such as the civil war and slavery. He is known to have made countless hence good decisions that positively impacted the lives of his people. Lincoln can be seen as a transformational leader as he was able to end the issue of slavery in the US thus improving the lives of the average American people. Great leaders always have their opponents who will criticize their actions. Lincoln tolerated virulent criticism from all sides including the press. For instance he was accused of arresting Southern sympathizers despite the fact that he was doing it for the peace of the country. Lincoln captured the public’s eye by his charismatic leadership and persuasion abilities which made him leave the executive position stronger and more influential. James Buchanan in my view is the worst president of the United States in history. He did not face many challenges during his tenure compared to most other presidents. However, his refusal to challenge the issue of expansion of slavery makes him be the worst president. Even before he became president, he supported the expansion of slavery in western territories. He was also unable to stop the growing bloc of states which later became the confederacy. His incompetence can also be attributed to the rise of the bloody civil war. Buchanan made the pro-slavery policy the essential principle of his administration. Buchanan also failed because of using power with prejudice as a futuristic and an ideologically guided executive. George Bush is one among the ten worst presidents in the history of United States. He is ranked as the second worst president in the postwar era. This can be attributed to the fact that he went to office after he oversaw the use of lethal injections against some of his people. He used the Department of Justice in order to reprimand his enemies in politics. He also used the fear of international terrorism to rise to power. Red tape and Bureaucracy Red tape is the set of regulations and rules to which private agencies are mandated to accept in order to venture in entrepreneurial activities. Both red tape and bureaucracy hinder or suppress entrepreneurship. This can be attributed to the fact that bureaucracy is highly related to corruption which highly affects the returns of the financial market. The abolishing of red tape for bureaucratic decision making will probably imply a worse situation as suggested by Bozeman (120). This is due to the high cases of corruption associated with bureaucratic offices. Therefore I barely support this change since abolishing red tapes will lead to increased corruption hence poor financial returns in the entrepreneurship activities. Legalization of Drugs In my view, legalization of drugs is a step in the wrong direction for various decisions. For one, legalization of drugs will lead to the increased use of these drugs hence more cases of addiction. This is evident considering the civil war fighters whose addictions to morphine increased after their wounds were treated with morphine according to Douglas and Peter De (125). There is also a relationship between drugs and violence. When people are under drugs they tend to have their minds out of control hence they are likely to engage in violent activities. Even if drugs are legalized, there would exist a black market for them. For instance if a drug is made illegal for those under 18 years, there would be black market for those under that age. Another reason is that if drugs were legalized, most probably the government agency responsible for distribution most likely would not distribute it the most effective drugs. Moreover, the use of drugs leads to change in individual behavior hence exacerbating criminal actions. In most cases violence associated with drug abuse. Qualities of a Christian citizen Christian Citizenship can be defined as being subject to any governing authority that is established by God without rebelling against it. Christian citizens should have certain characteristics as outlined hereunder. They should maintain external vision: whereas the world sees success through possession of material things according Romans 13 Christian citizens view success is about living according to God’s will in order to make the world better . Therefore Romans 13 suggests that it is good to submit to authority. Selflessness: as individuals we should aim at serving others, and not to be served, hence in Romans 13 it is argued that it is our duty to pay taxes and submit to authority. Live ethically: sometimes success according to Christianity differs from success according to world’s definition of success. Hence our ethics and morals lead to us treating employees differently contrary to Christianity where we should all the same. Responsibility: it is our responsibility to work for justice and against injustice. Hence it is important to speak against irresponsible authority. Civil Rights I passionately admire Jackie Robinson as a civil rights figure. He was an athlete and he possessed good character and courage. These two personalities of Robinson made him conquer national racism. During his time Africans were not allowed to participate in baseball when president Brooklyn Dodgers decided to end this racism he chose Robinson to participate in the league. Despite the fact that baseball was not his best sport he excelled in it. When he joined the minor league there was less support from the white Americans and some signed against playing with him. Robinson received a lot of threats from the other team mates including death threats but these never made him despair. Instead he put more effort and finally emerged the champion. Works Cited Bozeman, Barry. Bureaucracy and red tape. NewYork: Prentice Hall, 2000 Hodge, Carl & Nolan, Cathal. US presidents and foreign policy. London: ABC-CLIO, 2007 Husak, Douglas, & Marneffe, Peter De .The legalization of drugs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005 Read More