American Political Culture - Essay Example

American Political Culture November In a given society, there are the differences that are always manifested among the people and which can be used positively or negatively according to the way the people decide to use them. Some of the differences that may be seen include gender which in some communities has been used negatively to suppress the women and make the men look superior over them. However, with time this has been confronted and the females respected and with the advocacy of gender equity, women have earned their right position in the society. People possess different cultural orientations. It is wrong to discriminate or victimize a person due to their opposing or different cultural orientations. On the contrary this should be used to enhance unity in the nation. Differences in race have been the cause of serious chaos and fights with certain races having been treated as inferior over the others. The fight against racism has yielded well and in the recent past the charges for racial prejudice are quite high. Religious tolerance is witnessed in many parts of the world although there has been serious conflict between Muslims and Christians in some parts of the world e.g. Nigeria. Keywords: Unity, Political Culture, Individualism, Democracy. Introduction Americans vote along established political lines that have been drawn over the years. Candidates running for the prime positions such as the president have always tried to align their quest and bid to rule the land with the established political cultures so they can reap abundantly and gunner the needed votes. What is funny is that despite people in the United States have differences that range from gender, race, religion and culture but when it comes to elections they always vote in a certain manner that can be predicted easily by political analysts. This paper will therefore look deeply at the factors that are considered in the voting systems in the US and the aspects of unity and thinking that bind the people in the society. The people who vote have interests which are common and the problems that they face in the society are closely the same regardless of the racial, religious or cultural differences that they may be having. This can literally explain the reason why they will form a certain voting culture that can be used to determine how they can vote in an election. During election, the Americans will use their democratic rights and since they are not bound by any law to vote for a certain candidate they will choose their preferred one. However, after analyzing the voting trends the voting must align to a certain trend. This trend is a representation of the ideologies that these people uphold or subscribe to and what they feel is right. This has been the case over the years and its understanding is the basis of the best performing political aspirants. American Beliefs Americans have the beliefs they share and the ones that determine how they act and behave in various situations. For instance they live as one large community regardless of their cultural, religious, racial and gender differences. Living under the same conditions makes the society to be synchronized in a specific way and their thinking and choices are closely similar. This has been the case in making political decisions where the people will tend to make similar choices and choose the same people or people with certain manifestos. The American society is made up of classes that are divided on the society’s financial ability. The people in a certain social class will tend to forget their minor differences and advocate for the ideologies that will ensure that they are secure and their businesses are not hurt. Such group which comprises a large group are the investors. Investors will always vote in the person whom they feel will guard their interests the best. They are not concerned on the differences in religion or culture as long as they are sure they will be offered business security. The candidates vying will therefore use this positively and ensure that they have a list of ways to ensure that they lure the people to believe they have the best for them. This makes the community to vote in a similar way and over the years this has been seen as the way that determines how the same vote. This is regardless of the differences that the people have in their backgrounds. Democracy In a democratic set up, all the citizens are supposed to participate equally and they should exercise their democratic rights in national matters such as elections. The citizens are bestowed with the mandate of electing their preferred leaders and so over the years it has been seen that during such situations the people do not vote along their gender, race, cultural or religious grounds. On the contrary there is a political culture that has been established that can predict how the people vote in a given election. This is a mock of democracy as it is supposed that in a democratic nation the votes should depict a varying society as the people will have different and opposing interests. However this is not the case. United States has been praised for having one of the best democracies in the world. It has come a long way to fight the negative effects of negative ethnicity and racial prejudice with people like Martin Luther King Junior and Malcom X going down the annuls of history as the legends who advocated for racial equity and hence the birth of a democratic nation. It is expected that in an election, and with two parties always battling it out in the premier posts i.e. Democrat and the Republican parties, people in various regions show a continued and predictable support to a certain party. This can be viewed in various ways. First the one discussed above and again as a way of mutilating democracy as the people are not exercising their democratic rights by voting in certain political lines over the years (Dye, 2002). Individualism Individualism is the political philosophy that embarks at enhancing the moral worth of a given individual. This makes the person to advocate for the interests and choices that will guard his/her interests the best. The United States population is made up of a majority of people who advocate for individualism. This is regardless of their differences in religion, culture etc. When they are voting they will bury such differences and make decisions that are based on the political culture that has been established over the years. The problems that the people have to address are similar or closely the same. This is witnessed along the social classes that are there and the sources of income that one has. This can be explained by the formation of professional bodies that fight for their rights without emphasizing on the peoples’ differences. This is still the case when the same people are making political decisions. They will always make choices that they feel will advocate for ideals that will favor their daily lives and make their lives better. Individualism can be viewed from various perspectives and its effect on the political field. First, the people will be more concerned with their personal interests and so what will determine their voting trend will be their social class maybe economically or professionally and not gender, race or such. According to Dye (2002), over the years, with certain parties coming up with plans to empower certain dockets, then it means that the people who come from certain groups of the society will always vote in a similar way. This has been the source of the political cultures that dominate the voting process today. All Americans are guarded by a constitution that defines their rights and privileges. The constitution is clear on the right to vote which they have. The way they practice their right to choose their leaders is however funny with majority voting along political lines established long ago. It is important to note that the vanishing of petty differences in the political arena is important to uphold national unity and cohesion among the people. In the current America the people are usually divided along economic classes and not racial or cultural basis. This has been a major boost and it can be used to predict how a candidate may perform in a given election. Conclusion The differences in gender, culture, race and religion have not been the basis of political differences in the US elections. On the contrary the people have different ideologies which bind them together and make them make closely similar decisions that determine the person that they vote for. For instance, the professional groups and economic groups will vote for the person who will pledge to fight or ensure they have a good working environment and address their grievances. Investors will also vote in a way that they will feel the business environment will be safe to facilitate better sales. This is because the problems they are facing are closely the same such as economic constrains and regardless of their background differences they will have to address them as a group. Reference Dye, R. T. (2002). Politics of America, Texas Edition, 5th Ed. New York: Prentice Hall. Read More