"I could think of no worse example for nations abroad, who for the first time were trying to put free electoral procedures into effect, than that of the United States wrangling over the results of our presidential election, and even suggesting that the presidency itself could be stolen by thievery at the ballot box."
- Richard M. Nixon, following his close loss in the election of 1960.
In 1801, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated as our republic's third President. The world watched as his predecessor, John Adams, a man arguably as responsible for the nation's founding as any one else, peacefully handed over his position power following a remarkably contentious election. A precedent was set that day in our republic that the preservation of the system that these men had designed would be prioritized over their own interests and ambition.
Whether it was Nixon's quick concession in 1960, despite election irregularities, or Al Gore's concession in 2000, our elections have been set a part in the planet's history with our priority on preserving our less than perfect system. Our course this year is the study of where this system originated and why the people of our republic have such a deep faith in it. We may come to agree with this faith or we may come away wishing to challenge our two hundred year old system.
We will also learn this year that our system is frequently administered in significantly different ways depending on who is our President.
Leaving alone personalities and behaviors of the men currently running for president, that could be a entire month of blogger posts 😉, I am curious to hear about your thoughts about policy.
Only focusing on policy, please share one policy that you hope that the person who is our President in 2021 will act upon. You will identify a policy and briefly, only a few sentences, share why you wish to see a President commit to that policy. Here is a list of policies to pick from if you are unsure of what to choose, LIST.
There is not a need to share who we may support, only the policies we wish to see enacted and why that policy matters to you. Frequently, we agree way more on policies than do we agree on the candidates.
As is our practice, please reply to at least two classmates.
- The words "agree" or "disagree" are insufficient and easily misunderstood.
- Use this task as an opportunity to ask clarifying questions of one another or share what you may know about that policy.
- This unusual restriction that I am placing on this blogger post will keep this page as an open forum of exchange.
In this forthcoming election, each candidate has said a lot about what they plan to do if they win. Personally, I don't support either when it comes down to policies, and policies alone. Each candidate has something that I wish to see happen in the United States. Joe Biden would decriminalize cannabis, and leave the legalization of recreational Marijuana to the states, which is a step in the right direction towards legalizing it. He would also funnel money into the juvenile justice system, and trying to end the school to prison pipeline. However, Trump also has many plans for the economy which I could get behind. He plans to create ten million jobs in ten months, and to push outsourced jobs back into the US, which will create more job opportunities in America and help our economy. Both candidates seem to have similar goals for racial equality according to the NPR article linked above, by strengthening the economic presence of POC by supporting their businesses and maintaining low POC unemployment rates. The candidates are also both pushing to pull our soldiers out of Afghanistan and the Middle East, which is always welcome. When we look at policy, it seems that each candidate has goals that seem great, and each has ones that don't seem so good. Policy-wise, each candidate seems much more similar than I thought, and somehow I feel less nervous about one candidate winning.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that both potential presidents have their own wills and wishes to accomplish when they become president is nerve-wrecking. Their beliefs and ideologies can shape America as we know it.
DeleteI agree that the decriminalization of cannabis is important, because in the past POC have been sent to jail for life because of having it in their possession one too many times. Perhaps decriminalizing it would make the rulings lighter if the person in question was also underage as well.
DeleteTrump's policies don't seem terrible on paper; that much is true. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 200,000 Americans have already died because of his incompetency and his inability to act in time. That statistic alone is enough to terrify me out of thinking that he's not fit to be president, but with that on top of his refusal to condemn white supremacy, and the fact that he's being supported by groups like QAnon and the Taliban leads me to believe that he most definitely does not have the nation's best interests at heart.
DeleteI agree because the decriminalization of marijuana is something that could help many people, people getting sentenced to years for the possession of it and it being unfair for the person , get a prison sentence for a recreational drug. I believe that with this important topic, the decriminalization of it will help those people in the present and future
DeleteDonald Trump and Joe Biden have similar goals (running the nation effectively), but have different ways to accomplish them. Important policies that they should keep in mind could be COVID-19, the American economy, racial equality and healthcare. COVID-19 could easily have a significant effect on a president's choices. I just hope that whoever becomes our new 2021 president can be able to commit their time, money, and common sense into their decisions to either slow down or stop COVID-19 for good. COVID-19 has affected millions of lives throughout the world. It would be foolish to look on this threat as harmless.
ReplyDeleteControlling the spread of COVID-19 is one of the most important factors in this election. We need to elect someone who will control it effectively so that we aren't stuck with COVID until the next election.
DeleteThe Covid issue is too deadly to ignore, so I agree that the president needs to focus on that before he does any other big actions. Time is of the essence, so it should be first on his list.
DeleteControlling the Covid-19 epidemic is crucial. Our leader needs to know how to handle a country that is scared and vulnerable. Our leader has to tell us the truth and not sugarcoat things. When the truth is hidden plans of action can not be made. Action must be taken on this pandemic.
DeleteCovid-19 has spiked again and it is vital that it gets under control. It is the most pressing issue currently and the next president has to take actual steps forward into preventing the spread.
DeleteHandling covid-19 should be an important policy the elected president should keep in mind. Doing so could save thousands of lives.
DeleteI agree with you that defeating Covid-19 is one of the most important and pressing issues the next president will have to face, as if Covid grows worse, more lives and jobs will be lost.
DeleteI agree that Covid-19 is an issue that needs to be dealt with and dealt with quickly. If our president chooses not to act upon this virus then many more people can get infected and the chance of a cure being processed will be much smaller since many more people would be getting infected. This isn't something we can wait for to go away it needs to be controlled and fixed.
DeleteI Agree COVID-19 has been getting worse these past few weeks after Trump endorsing to after he got it, he felt 20 years younger and some people that support Trump stopped wearing mask and we have to focus on how dangerous this virus is and to stop it because it is hurting too many people
DeleteI hope that our future president acts on the Green New Deal that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put onto the political floor. This policy focuses on having 100% clean energy by 2030, and this utilizes carbon tax and job guarantee. This is the most important thing to me specifically because not changing the way we get our energy might make the planet into an unlivable environment. Unlike other valid issues, this issue will affect everyone that will be alive in the next 20 years. It is not a question of politics to be honest, it is a question of ethics and moral values. Older people who run our country might not be around to feel the true affects of their actions, or the actions that they didn't do, so I hope the candidate will have empathy for the generations born after him.
ReplyDeleteHaving clean energy doesn't affect one generation. It impacts many after them. It's important for a president to understand this. Changing one's energy can impact MANY important things, from living conditions to pollution levels. A president must understand this and make it their priority to improve the nation and maybe even worldwide.
DeleteUtilizing clean sources of energy is super important. If we keep burning fossil fuels we will ruin our environment, and earth will become inhospitable. Switching to cleaner energy like Solar, Wind, Hydro-electric, and Nuclear power can be the saving grace for earth and all the species that live on it.
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DeleteClimate change needs to be a priority. The Green New Deal is extremely important in implementing cleaner energy into our country. We need to face climate change NOW.
DeleteClimate change is a dire situation, that needs to be brought to light instead of avoiding it due to money and "economic value'
DeleteThank you for bringing to light that some people might not believe or care about climate change because it doesn’t affect them, but this kind of mindset is not appropriate ethically. Also climate change is a very big issue and needs to be faced with competence and humility.
DeleteYeah the debates have been nearly devoid of talking about climate change, and people aren't talking about It enough
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ReplyDeleteThe policy that I hope our future president acts upon is climate action and the Green New Deal. This deal sets a goal to have America using only clean energy in just 10 years. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed this deal an has brought it to the senate. Issues that come with this deal would be the tax increase on things such as carbon. However, a little tax is a small price to pay for the help this deal can do. Our world is in so deep. A lot of the damage we have caused is impossible to fix. However, there is still hope to turn this planet around. We need clear efficient plans in laws in order for that to happen. With that comes the necessity for good leadership. Cimate change needs to be a priority.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Climate change isn't an issue that will magically go away. We need to start acting quickly otherwise it will become too late.
DeleteI agree that our president will need to act upon Climate Action. If we wait too long then there is a possibility that it will become unfixable because too much damage is done. Setting a goal such as 10 years time to use clean energy is a great idea and definitely should be worked towards.
DeleteThe policy that I hope the next president takes on is criminal justice reform. Currently, the criminal justice system is a mess that makes no attempt at rehabilitating inmates. The conditions in most prisons in the United States are awful and violate human rights. Additionally, this system barely offers any help to released inmates who are willing to get their life back together. For years the criminal justice system has been extremely flawed yet lacking the attention it needs to get to where it should be. I doubt that either candidate will mainly focus on this issue but it still isn't something to be ignored.
ReplyDeleteCriminal justice reform is one of those policies that never gets much attention, because people don't want to have to think about the human beings being locked up just to make private prisons an extra buck. There's nothing effective about the prison system, and it's one of the systems where racism is the most prevalent. This issue deserves as much attention as anything else.
DeleteMany criminals turn around and start living justly, only to get shunned. Former thieves and burglars are disgraced by the media for falling into bad habits when they had no choice unless they wanted to live a good life.
DeleteOn the topic of prisons, do you think that the death penalty should be a thing?
DeleteHow do you think the future president can start trying to fix this issue?
DeleteThe policy I would be most focused on would be the current covid-10 pandemic. The mishandling and at first unknown nature of the virus has cost over two-hundred thousand lives in the United States. Having a clear and sufficient plan to slow down the pandemic and its deaths would be top priority. If we handle the covid-19 pandemic, we can then move onto the other problems that are now less complicated with covid-19 handled.
ReplyDeleteCovid-19 has impacted millions of lives. Ignoring this issue is something that cannot be done. The potential president has to be able to make a good plan in order to slow down or stop the spread entirely.
DeleteThe death toll of Covid-19 is insane. With the estimates to be 300,000 by New Year's, whoever is president will need to enforce a national plan because the virus doesn't stop at any state's border.
DeleteWhile there are a whole lot of different policies that the president is going to have to decide on in this next upcoming term, the most pressing (in my opinion) is healthcare. 44 million people in the United States have no healthcare, and another 30 million's is inadequate, leaving almost 33% of our country's population with little to no access to good and affordable medical care. With Amy Coney Barrett's appointment, the Supreme Court may finally repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would take away millions of people's ability to get treatment. Healthcare is thrown around as a theoretical, but real people are dying because they can't afford care, and Donald Trump has no coherent plan to put and end to this. Healthcare is a human right, and we have the infrastructure to make it accessible, so we should.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly I think that healthcare is a problem in the Us and that Trump doesn't even have a concrete plan while Biden plans to expand expands off the Affordable Care Act which could potentially significantly help people.
DeleteA policy I could support would be healthcare for all. Healthcare is something many people need but is just monopolized. Whilst I can support someone who runs this policy, the fear of the ignorance of these initiatives is something that can make or break this election.
ReplyDeleteDo you support the dissolving of private plans or just a public option that you can choose?
DeleteI agree because the United States has one of the most backwards healthcare systems in the world.
DeleteThe policy that I hope the next president takes is the restoration of the economy and the slow progress to defeating covid-19 and bringing our life back to normal. This would be a very important part of the next year of our life, perhaps even the next few years, and with the disastrous job Trump has done, the next president must consider the lives, struggles, and strifes of the daily people, such as their jobs, their health, and their ability to put food on the table.
ReplyDeleteYes I think you are right and the fact that Trump has not released a full COVID-19 action plan, but plans to have a vaccine by the end of the year even though scientists say its unlikely, is very troubling.
DeleteOne policy that I hope the next president acts upon is making education more affordable and making us learn more through education. Some plans that were mentioned in the article is, "Establish universal prekindergarten." and "Strengthen school choice policy and expand accessibility to charter schools." These are both great ideas and I assume would help our nation out greatly. A smarter nation can help to enable other things such as restoring the economy or working towards fixing climate change. Once people are more informed then they can act accordingly.
ReplyDeleteEducation should be a top priority of the next president. One thing I think he should consider is forgiving government student loans.
DeleteOne policy that I hope to see implemented person who is our President in 2021 will act upon, is the clean energy plan and the Green New Deal. It would significantly help push the US towards a virtually net-zero carbon emissions society. I have read the Green New Deal personally and I believe by implementing its ideas (and the clean energy plan) it would benefit the entirety of the country in the ling run. I agree with this policy because all in all the environment is what is going to create and shape our present and future. However the policy that Trump plans to instate in regards to the government are clean water and air policys his plan is called "Clean water infrastructure." As well as this Trump says he will continue to push back on climate policys that Obama had previously instated and I think that this will create significant negative impacts of society because without a strong environmental backbone the world could undergo significant changes such as climate change. Trump is taking one small step forward by attempting to rid trash and water with his policy, and 1 leap back by negating and destroying previously instated policy's. Overall I think that by Biden allocating over 2trillion dollars towards his environmental policys and Trump only giving $38 billion; Biden will have a more significant positive impact in Americas deteriorating environment.
ReplyDeleteI agree because I think that Climate change is the most important issue of our time
DeleteI also agree because I think that trump has been seeing all if this more of a question of how much money he can make if the things he does and he really makes you feel like just because he wont see the effects of climate change he wont care about it because only in the future we'll see it.
DeleteI also think that climate change Is what should take precedent and it is sadly being ignored
DeleteOne policy that I believe could be beneficial would be a rethinking of the current welfare system, in which each person gets support based on their income. While this is good in theory, it ends up effectively locking people at one income level, because if they gain more income, they lose their benefits and end up with less money than they had before. I do not know what system would be entirely better, and no system is flawless, but I do believe that the president, whoever it ends up being, should not accept the current system as simply the "way it has always been" and not even consider changing it.
ReplyDeleteThe policy I hope our future president will act upon is the problem of climate change, because ultimately, no other policy matters if our entire planet is under water.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because the president can't focus on a policy for a planet that is in shambles and will soon cease to exist if something is not done to control climate change.
DeleteOne policy I hope our next president will act upon is taxes. To be more specific, I hope the next president takes into consideration the classes they harm when raising taxes. When taxes are raised, the middle class is impacted the most. They have to figure out how to pay for these unreasonable taxes while somehow putting food on the table. Meanwhile, the most wealthy people are not paying nearly enough taxes, especially with the amount of money they spend. Because they are so wealthy, raising tariffs for these people won't be as detrimental as it is for the lower classes. I hope whoever wins the election looks into the tax system and makes it work for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI both agree and don't agree because I don't think if the current president is reelected there'll be that change or its also possible that he cant make things any worse if the house and senate don't allow it.
DeleteOne policy I would like to see the president show interest in is combatting climate change. For example, I would like to see a net-zero policy because we need to phase out carbon if we want to slow our pollution. We need to use more renewable energy and minimize non-renewable sources including coal and other fossil fuels. For the auto industry, we also need to limit cars with gas-powered engines and create more cars powered by electric motors. Since more people will be required to build them, there will be more job opportunities. Of course other policies are important too, but if we don't slow global warming, then there will be little future for our country as we know it.
ReplyDeleteRight now, i believe what the president should be most interested in, is the current covid-19 pandemic. A lot of people have gone unemployed, and are currently struggling with bills and rent. Our current president did not give a clear plan on how we could defeat this pandemic. I believe if the president finds a way to defeat covid-10, we could move on to solve other current problems.
ReplyDeleteI feel like our criminal justice system needs to be changed. there's no way our society can keep going in the way its going. I think that both sides on the issues are causing the problem top grow, you have the far left wanting to take always laws that we feel like should be strengthen yet for them it feels like everyone who isn't on their side is against their beliefs. in this situation it makes seems like the farther left the government goes the m ore this relationship seems like a pot of food made not using a recipe. or another way to describe this would be like fries. as there's no in between you either have good warm ones or cold ones that aren't enjoyable anymore. and you either have laws where the majority agrees with and is satisfied with and the other alternative where the laws don't match what majority wants and feels its right and the worst is when the laws are set out yet people choose to ignore them and take their meaning too literal. and I want that if Biden wins to put some common sense back into the government.
ReplyDeleteI think right now the most pressing issue is how people will deal with the coronavirus. I would like to see some sort of national mask mandate of law, masks have been proven to slow the spread of the coronavirus, and while many businesses require them somehow there are still many people who don’t or won’t wear them. I think it is very important for a President to fully commit to helping our country, especially during these times, and I think a national mask requirement would be one way to do so.
ReplyDeleteI hope that our next president will act on taxing the right people. Someone like Trump shouldn't pay only $700 in taxes while the less fortunate pay more. Whats important is a president who is able to listen to those around him, because one person can't know everything from taxes to immigration and everything in between. Thats why if a president is just a conduit from experts to the public, that would be ideal. For example, if an immigration specialist were. to run the country, immigration would be heavily changed and fixed, but they wouldn't know what to do about health care, so if they had advisors that they listened to that knew what they were talking about, then the country would be going in the right direction
ReplyDeleteTthe Green New Deal is the policy that I hope the president focuses on because the world has been increasing in Temperature and pollution, if they focus on this we can live in a better world and we can have a longer lifespan on Earth because the wholes in the o zone layer will star patching up with less pollution of gasses and the icecaps will stop melting and the earth will regulate it’s temperature again and the sea level won’t rise. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez proposed the Green New Deal to the United States Senate for review. The Green New Deal basically will set a 10 year goal to start using new clean energy. Although, The Green New Deal does cause a tax increase, global warming is something that is life or death and even if paying extra taxes could be very dangerous for our economy but we are able to save ourselves from global warming.
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