In your post this week consider the following questions: we know that government is a necessary evil, but at what point does it become too evil...in other words, how much government is too much? Are there things/situations that the government is involved with that they shouldn't be? Are there areas in society where government isn't involved but should be? In your response please post which parts of the reading you found most interesting and thought provoking, and also if you have a question you would like pose to the author and or class, please do so.
Word count: 400+
Due 1/17/10 @ 12pm.
Posts
Too much government occurs when policies begin to interfere with a healthy mixture of cultural and social differentiation. The separation of church and state lays the foundation for other important topics which should be kept out of the government’s control, including marriage laws and abortion. As seen through the reckless spending of the public which directly led to the recession, there is a clear need for governmental control. However, unless the issues push past the levels of human decency, any personal choice which does not directly affect the commonwealth should not be governed by anyone but the individual. Of course, drunk driving and drugs lead to possible harm to innocent bystanders; but when it comes to issues which only lead to affecting others mentally, such as members of society whom are pro-life fighting to ban abortion, the government needs to stay out. I found one of Will’s statements very interesting: that being human is not evil; it just requires the assistance of others. Human are not fully complete, and it is the government’s job to help with such completion. However, the public gets lost in this concept, forgetting that it is the government’s job to provide the safest, most livable environment which will allow each citizen to reach his/her fullest potential as a human. How would it be fair for the government to stick its hands in an issue such as abortion, when such issues are what split the country between political parties? Their focus needs to lie more heavily on fiscal responsibility. As Will stated, without the government, there is no free market. We are in need of law enforcement, regulations, and direction. Focus must be applied more heavily on banks and their whimsical loaning strategies. Companies like Wal-Mart are monopolizing their industries, putting the small businesses out and treating their employees with less respect than Sarah Palin at a book signing. Private investing should not be fully regulated, but definitely monitored. My biggest issue with government interference is healthcare. At the moment, the economy is in the hole. Telling the middle class they will be paying more taxes so that the lower class can have health insurance is undemocratic. Yes, many are out of work, and with the unemployment comes a loss of health insurance; so provide the healthcare to families with recent unemployment, until they can find a new job. Universal health care will lead to an unbelievable influx of immigrants from various nations, medical abuse from illegal aliens, and an unnecessary increase in tax dollars in a time where money is scarce everywhere. The government needs to back off and focus on the much more important issue at hand: the economy. My question to the class is, does anyone have a logical explanation for how universal health care does not appose the concept of a capitalistic society?
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I’d like to start off by stating that I fully stand by Gary Wills’ belief that government is necessary for humanity. Government provides people with guidance and necessary protection for our survival. It organizes our money structure so that we avoid bankruptcy, creates laws that protect us from physical threats, and overall is aimed for our well being as people and a nation. That being said, the reason that we need government also happens to be the reason why we often need to speak out against it; we (members of government as well) are all human. Just as we need guidance and protection from our government, our government also needs the same things back from us. If the government does not coincide with the thoughts and viewpoints of its people then it absolutely cannot work. Often the members of government may not have an assured solution to a national problem, and if people do not speak out and let the government know where they stand then the government will find no obvious action to take. Also with government I believe there is a certain line that you cannot cross, and sadly I feel as though our current situation in America is far past that line. Government interference, as Josh alluded to, should be limited to monitoring money lending, and keeping the people out of harm’s way. However, we are now in a situation of total governmental dominance. We are in a situation where the government is beginning to dismantle the private industry while undeniably creating illegal monopolies with their new public jobs. This is old news and the health care bill with a public option failed miserably (as it should have), but a public option would have eventually wiped the majority of private health care plans in just a few years time. Companies would stop offering good insurance with the option of a cheap public plan, and they would simply not be able to compete with something that would only be affordable because of the billions of dollars that our government recklessly prints, and also owes to China. Government is certainly necessary, but when it no longer represents the people, it can create all kinds of chaos. I would encourage people to definitely look into the world issues and actually no where they stand by forming their own opinions rather than listening to their parents or friends. The flaws in our country today in my mind are no doubt due to the irresponsible nature of the voters in our country. Many voters make a vote without actually knowing anything about where a candidate stands, and often make the decision based solely on the fact the candidate is very charismatic and the words coming out of their mouth (gibberish to these voters) sounds good. I believe our government is in its current situation because most of us in America currently don’t truly know where we stand and do not make an effort to voice our opinions. We are also pathetically swayed by the media, which once again alludes to our nature of letting others think for us. My main argument is that government is absolutely necessary, but government needs its citizens to wake up and speak out against the flaws so that the government will wake up and correct the flaws.
ReplyDeleteToo much government is when it gets in the way of people making their own personal decisions. At times, the government needs to stop involving themselves in some issues, like, of course, healthcare. The government should not be forcing anyone to have to get healthcare. It is a personal choice; it should not be to choice from other people. I understand that the government thinks that they are making it better for everyone, but really, they are not. They are just digging themselves into a deeper hole of debt and a deeper hole of frustration with the people in America. And along with what Josh said, the government should not be getting involved with the issue of abortion. This is another personal choice that should be made by the person in the situation, not by anyone else. If someone wants to get an abortion for whatever reason, they should be able to. Some people need that choice available to them. I don't think that that choice should be taken away from them just because there are some people that oppose it.
ReplyDeleteThere are some things that the government is involved in that they need to be, like driving regulations and flying regulations. With flying regulations, I think that the changes that are making right now are greatly needed. These days with the possibility of terrorism, there is a need for more safety regulations. I, along with probably everyone else, hate how long it takes to go through security at an airport. I think that it is ridiculous that I have to be at the airport 4 hours before my flight, but if it ensures that I will be safe on the plane, I really don't mind as much. Along with this, I am all for the full body scans at the airports. Yes, some of the flying regulations, like the possible body scans, do make you give up some personal rights, but wouldn't you rather be safe and know that you will be alive when you land than risk your life by holding onto some personal rights? I know that I would much rather give up some personal rights/privacy than risk being killed in a plane. It is the same thing with driving regulations. Rules need to be put into place to ensure the safety for people which means giving up some personal rights to protect others.
The one part in the article that I found interesting was when they were taking about all the secrecy that goes on within the government. I was really thinking about what I would have wanted to know when they talking about the atomic bomb during WWII. If something this big and possibly devastating was going on in my country, I would not want to know what we are planning to do. I completely agree with what Wills was commenting on about if Americans did know about the atomic bomb and what they were going to do with it. Just imagine if American's did know and there was a vote to decide whether to drop the bomb or not. If the bomb never got dropped, life would be so different than it is right now. I think that there are certain things that the government does need to come out and talk about because like the article said, “[w]ithholding information creates a general air of suspicion that has corroded public trust in the government...” Like stated before, the government is a necessary evil; the government needs us and we need the government.
Government becomes too much apart of society when they involve themselves in going through with ideas that do not involve society’s issues. Instead of worrying about current issues such as our country’s national debt, and our plummeting economy; the government is trying to spend taxpayer’s dollars of the middle to upper class, to allow the lower class to have a cheaper and ultimately “free” Health Care insurance plan. Lowering health insurance for the lower class citizens is ridiculous and should not happen due to the hard work of people in today’s workforce. But, ultimately fixing the Health Care issue is a must. Fixing by taking richer people’s money is not a good way to view American’s dreams. People that are unemployed would automatically get insurance, which would not be fair to a hard working person in the middle to upper class. People in the lower class would not look for jobs because they would know their health insurance would be paid for. We need our government to look at our national debt and find a way and a plan to fix it. This is why our government is a necessary evil right now. They might be trying to succeed in working towards fixing Health Care, but they are not getting the correct plan to fix the problems of the people. Our government should be looking at the bigger picture of how our economy is collapsing and start fixing the problem. What I found fascinating about the article is how much government is actually involved in what we can or cannot do in society. We cannot make our own things, or make our own rules about certain things unless passed by the government. I agree with the author that the “government always aggrandizes itself. Government preys on the weak.” The government relies on people to pay taxes to have officials go through with the decisions they make. But if someone does not pay their taxes, or their mortgage, their house could be likely foreclosed on, and they could be evicted from their home, while having most of their belongings taken away from them. This is a great example on how our government preys on the weak, and how they rely on the people of society to pay the government, even though our officials have not come through recently in what they are trying to do with people’s money. I believe taxing for education is the right thing to do, but paying our officials as much as we do could be the cause of why they are not making the right decisions. My question to the class is do you think that drivers and passengers in cars should have to wear seatbelts, even though motorcycles do not have seatbelts and are open to injury while on a motorcycle?
ReplyDeleteThe government becomes to involved in peoples lives when the people do not have the freedom to make personal decisions like who they should be married too or whether or not they should keep a baby or not. When the government becomes controlling and does not think of the common good for its entire people, is when it becomes to evil. For example when scientists want to experiment with stem cell research to help people who are sick or dying, and the government says its to experimental. Well if the people want to put their lives at risk then let them. It is the only way we would ever know if it would work is if we experimented. If a mother wants to abort her baby before it comes into a world where it will have a hard life then let her. The baby is in her stomach and it is ultimately the mother’s body and she can do what she wants with it, since it is in her body. Finally if a man wants to get married to another man and same for women, then why should they not be able too? They are all humans and all deserve the same rights as everyone else. The government has also dug our country into a debt which right now seems impossible to get out of. The government has over taxed and over spent money they do not have. Health care while it is necessary should be the person’s choice not the government, and if the government does not have the money to give everyone health care then why should they give money out they do not have. The government also needs to be more involved in every child’s schooling because there are some parts of the country where there are children who are being neglected by there own country and do not have the same rights and opportunities as everyone other child in America. The only evil that the government is guilty of committing is not giving the same opportunities and rights to everyone. The government is necessary to keep all the millions of people in line with rules and regulations, but if the government is going to get involved in people lives then it should give equal opportunities to everyone.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that from the beginning of the reading Willis states the government to be necessary good, rather than a necessary evil. He goes on to state that majority of Americans feel that government at all levels is a necessary evil, as they feel that it takes away from their own rights. The beliefs of these citizens are somewhat justified, as the government does restrict the rights of the American people. However, limitations to rights are needed, for the limitations are put on rights and liberties when they infringe on the freedoms of others. In this way these restrictions create protection for people from both the government and their peers (the example used in class was speeding: by putting a speed limit in place, one gives up the right to drive at any desired speed, however gets the place of mind that others in will also be driving within the limit).
ReplyDeleteWith this said, I feel the only time government involvement is warranted is when freedoms and rights clash; When certain actions or rights affect more than just the one person. In such a case, the government acts as an unbiased third party to help mediate the problem and create a peaceful resolution. Much like what Josh said earlier, the government should not have involvement in things such as Abortions. For someone’s decision to have an Abortion has no impact on any other living being. It is true that there is a clash over the issue; however the clash isn’t due to an infringement of liberties but rather a difference in beliefs, which for the most part originate from one’s religious affiliations and beliefs. Thus, by having government involvement in such an issue, you begin to combine state and religion, instead of separating it.
Willis also mentions the fact that government isn’t and never will be perfect. In my opinion, this is why additions and changes are made to the constitution at the state and national level. It is also the reason we have a supreme court, to interpret the constitution. There will always be flaws with government, the American people as a whole will never be happy with the government. This seems quite obvious as the government sets rules and regulations for all, and when sets rules and regulations for such a great population, there will always be opposing views and beliefs. Take for example stem cell research; many oppose it, while many are for it. Thus when President Obama takes a stance, some will be angered, while other rejoice. It is for this exact reason that the government should stay out of issues such as the debate is caused by personal beliefs which are outside the realm of the constitution and the government’s right to protect its people.
I agree with Garry Wills when he says that “There are many things that limit what services governments can perform. For one thing, we often impose conflicting demands on them. We want our government to be efficient yet we want it to be accountable.” I agree with this statement because it is true that we depend on our government to help us in any way possible. We don’t want a government that is constantly hurting us in every which way. The government should be involved more in our healthcare because they are not. The healthcare system that the government controls right now is hurting us badly because of the medical and pharmaceutical regulation processes. This is the point where it becomes too evil. The drugs being sold are taking too long to be processed and this way it is not benefiting the citizens today. It also is increasing the price by waiting for the drugs to come through. Having increased price on drugs and medicine is hurting us because of the money we have to pay in order to stay healthy. The government has to realize this is not helping.
ReplyDeleteIn society today, the government being involved in situations like traffic laws and security type situations and education is working out well. If we didn’t have the government on top of us about driving rules and traffic citizens would be getting in accidents all over the place, which would also increase death rates. Having speed limit signs within the correct speed is the government helping us by not going to fast on the roads. Also the driving age, sixteen is a good age because the government has noticed when kids start becoming more mature in order to get their licenses and how to be a mature young adult driver. If we didn’t have the Government’s help with security including police, fire fighters and paramedics we would be even more sunk. Having police everywhere is a good system because the government is only trying to protect us citizens from getting hurt. This can include paying more for car accidents, getting caught for under age drinking, DUIs and other things that police do for the communities. Fire fighters and paramedics are also regulated by the government and they are constantly watching out for anything that goes wrong and tries to fix it as soon as the can. I think if the government knows where they are needed and what we need from them then the government is not involved too much. I think that they just need to realize what is more important for the society today. We need to stress to our leaders more today what is really important and what we as citizens need in order to live better and be happy.
When people state that government is too evil I do not entirely believe in that. I think that the government just bud in our lives so much is because they are fearful that we as Americans and other people that come to this country all plan on hurting the government. One thing that I believe that the government should not be able to do is to interrogate you without you even having any idea or anything. That is entirely against you act of privacy. Some other reasons how the government is too involved in our lives is the face that we are constantly being watched by cameras in public places and on the roadways. In a mall people are being watched from the moment they enter the mall from the moment that person leaves the mall. Some of the cameras are so strong that it can even move your lips and see what you are saying. Some people don’t like the feeling of always being watched. The public always feel that if they do one thing immoral on camera that the police will find them and they will get punished. Even on the roadways they are installing cameras that can advise if the public is texting while they are driving. What the government ought to do is stay out of our personal lives and tries to figure out how to get our economy up. If the government still feels like it needs to be in our everyday life than they should put cameras on the bad parts of the street to help control the movement of drugs and illegal items. The government should also put them all along the border. Illegal immigrants are the people they should be more worried about. Why would Americans want to harm our government? People that come here illegally would want to hurt our government to make there government stronger. We need government in us as united state citizens. We would be misplaced without it. It would be mass chaos. People would create monopolies similar to a heating company. The heating company could raise there rates five hundred percent and there would be nothing we could do about it. Everyone needs heat in there house when it gets to be cold. People have no other option but to pay that big fee and deal with it. This is why we have government in our lives and I would rather want them to into our lives than no government at all.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that humanity needs a government in order to survive in this world. Government provides protection for people against the many dangers our society faces; there is a guidance there that we can not get anywhere else. Without a government, our money structure would be a disaster because without rules and bylaws people are irresponsible when it comes to money; which is why many people have gone bankrupt. The laws created also protect us from any physical harm that we may encounter and the affects it will have on us. I agree with Nick M’s statement about “the reason that we need government also happens to be the reason why we often need to speak out against it; we (members of government as well) are all human”. It is the responsibility of the nation as a whole to look out for each other. If something is going wrong in the government, it is our job as concerned citizens to point it out so that the issue can be fixed to benefit us all. We may think that just because people are elected into office they must have a solution to all the problems; truthfully, no one has all the solutions. If the problems and possible solutions are not stressed to them, the government has no way of knowing what needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I believe the biggest problem with the government is there focus on the little things that go on in the lives of Americans. There are bigger issues such as healthcare and debt that need tending to rather than much smaller issues. Matters such as driving laws, marriage laws, and abortion are not concerns of the government pursay (sp); they are the matters of the individual that it involves. I understand they are looking out for the well being of citizens but when it comes to trying to control what they want to do with their own personal life, I do not think the government should interfere. If people choose to talk on the phone while they drive that is their own doing and they will suffer the consequences that go along with it. When it comes to marriage, every person has the right to love and happiness; who they decide to endure that journey with is up to them. The government should not be allowed to tell someone who they can spend their life with. I also disagree with laws being put on abortion. Yes, this is a very sensitive topic, but I think the decision is ultimately up to the mother and whether or not she thinks she is ready to have this child and whether or not she can provide for it financially physically and emotionally. These are all issues I feel the government tries to hard to interefere with. The everyday lives of the citizens should only be the concerns of the citizens and the government does not need to act as the over protective parent that thinks they know everything that is best for the child. While we don’t need babying, we as a people do need the guidance and protection from our government. The government does a good job protecting the rights of citizens and most importantly, has good intentions when looking out for our well being.
Like many others, I also think that a government is too involved when it violates a person’s personal decisions. I do not think that the government needs to be involved in hopes of augmenting a person’s life. An individual should be the one with the power and control over his life. With this power an individual can make decisions that either hinder or enhance his life, but it is not the government’s job to oversee this power. The government should only intervene when said individual makes a choice that could potentially harm those around him. Unfortunately, this means that the government should take control over matters that many believe to be a personal decision. Take smoking for example. Smoking is a personal choice that should affect only the one individual. The freedom to smoke is taken away only when it could pose harm to surrounding people. This is the reason that Illinois has laws that make smoking in public places such as restaurants illegal. I agree with their reasoning for these particular laws. On the other hand, I think that their control over the age limit for smoking is unnecessary. When someone chooses to smoke is a personal matter, and thus the government should not feel the need to control it. Similarly, the government should not feel the need to focus on things like gay marriage, legalities of scientific research, or abortion. These are all personal choices that cannot physically harm anyone except for the individual making the choice. If two people of the same sex wish to get married, it is not the government’s job to interfere. The marriage does not harm anyone else. The same is true for abortion. A mother can only harm herself and the child that is apart of herself when she makes the very personal choice to abort a pregnancy. When the government meddles with this they violate a person’s individual choices. These are both issues of religion and thus do not fall under the responsibility of the government. Like Willis, I think that the government should only have power over personal issues when two people’s self-interest conflict and create friction within society. These conflicts make having a government necessary but it is this attention to a larger picture, instead of individual’s choices, that will create progress. If the government continues to focus on trivial matters of personal choice, society as a whole will never amount to anything.
ReplyDeleteIn the reading, the author actually considers government to be a necessary good rather than a necessary evil. This is true to an extent because without government there would be complete and utter chaos with little stability or security. For these reasons, government is a necessary good because it provides for the betterment of the people. Just as we talked about in class, the reading referred to driving laws and regulations to show the safety that government provides in our daily lives. However, even though the government provides security and stability, it often results in overstepping it’s boundaries. The heated debate in today’s times is undoubtedly healthcare. Many people, which was clearly seen through reading the responses of Joe Walsh and others, suggest that government becomes evil when it over regulates. Right now, the government is very involved in the health care system and many believe that the government should take a step back somewhat and allow for a free market to take place with a greater number of private insurances which would allow consumers a greater say in their healthcare. I believe that the government is involved in basically almost aspect that there could be. I honestly cannot think of one area that needs government involvement where there isn’t any already. In reading the article, there were parts that completely made sense and others that did not. I see the point, but do not agree, with the specific part about the Manhattan Project. The secrecy issue is one that obviously occurs in our government because for the most part the general public is only aware to what the government allows us to see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the newspaper or magazine. The government censors what they do not want us to know, even though it is for the most part unethical and unfair to the American citizens. Projects and other top secret information are kept out of the hands of the public as to not cause panic, anger, etc. When the author writes “But the third was a total success-- the American people were served without having to waste time explaining what was being done on their behalf”, it hit a cord. This statement makes it seem as if the American public is ignorant and above all “carefree” about what is going on in the bigger scale of things. It leads to the impression that American’s give total faith into their government, even though we as the people should question and judge what is truly right and wrong and what is best for us as a nation. America is a democracy and performing actions behind the backs of citizens conflicts with the ideal that the people have the right to decide what is best for them. Do you believe that what the government does without our knowledge is fair and just?
ReplyDeleteI do believe that in order to function properly, the government does need to be involved in society in some way or form. I do not think that the government should be involved in our own daily lives though, or interfere with it. There are different views on how the government should be involved with a society. I think that the government is fine how it is right now, and what they’re involved with. If the government wasn’t involved in such inspections such as for food and health care items, our health would be at risk. It is only there to benefit us. If the government was not involved in certain situations, our society would completely fall apart. I also think that the government needs to back down a bit with their involvement in the Middle East. I think that them being there is creating unnecessary tension, thus creating more fighting and rebellion. I do believe that there should be some involvement with that issue, but it should be more taken care of on its own. The government becomes too involved when they interfere with the peoples’ personal decisions, such as marriage or abortions. Those topics I believe should be solely based on personal preference. I agree with Garry Wills when he says that “There are many things that limit what services governments can perform. For one thing, we often impose conflicting demands on them. We want our government to be efficient yet we want it to be accountable.” I agree with this statement because it is true that we depend on our government to help us in any way possible. We don’t want a government that is constantly hurting us in any way that they can. For example, I do not think that our government is involved in healthcare as much as it should be. I think they are trying to avoid the arising issue, and trying to back around and create loopholes so it makes it easier for them to deal with. This is a growing issue, and I do not think the government is making any effort to try and help out the current situation. It will not go away on its own, so who is going to take care of it, if the government won’t step up? In our society today, I think that the government is doing a good job with involvement in our safety laws. All in all, I believe that the government should take the citizens wants and needs into consideration first, in order to have a happy and successful society.
ReplyDeleteThe evils of government are completely necessary, and are often going to be a topic of debate within the population. It is the basic controversy of ‘Liberty v. Security.’ The government has to protect the individuals to the best of its ability, while still allowing citizens rights of their own. If the government becomes too powerful it will be viewed as a communist control, but if not involved in areas with laws and protection of individuals, the nation would be chaos. The government has to find a system to fairy balance the two. I believe we have gone through a system of trial and error, and have established a fair and safe method to government involvement. The current system can be amended at any time to make changes that are needed. As an example, the traveling restrictions have been greatly increased. The government initially took action after the 9/11 attacks, but with recent attempts of terrorism again, further action has been taken. Clearly, airport security did not take proper precautions for screening individuals boarding planes. The security has been increased to full body scans for people incoming from foreign countries, and more airports have began to make the change to increase security. Although the government is taking necessary precautions to preventing further attacking, people still seem to argue against the installation of higher security. They believe it is an infringement on personal liberties, being unfairly scanned during airport security. The scanner does “see through clothing,” but what other methods can scan as in-depth, without full body pat downs. This government involvement may be quite impersonal, but is needed to prevent attacks. A law or government involvement that greatly affects the majority of citizens, and greatly frowned upon will not be able to be maintained. Involvement in personal business may create wide spread problems. I think that if the government crosses the line into personal liberties, it will be viewed as a totalitarian state. With dragged out trials, or even pharmaceutical companies producing goods at high costs due to regulations put it place, it is harming the citizens. Increased amounts of labor and price changes are only holding back the individual. Medicine can efficiently and safely be produced if government involvement was reduced. High prices are a result of these regulations. The government must make an attempt to balance the liberty and security, to not only protect the citizens, but not be over controlling while doing so.
ReplyDeleteWills’ article points out many interesting reasons why government is in fact, a necessary good. He identifies humans as “naturally induced to seek communion and fellowship with others”. Wills is basically saying that humans tend to be more successful when they are working with other people, when they have others to confide in and seek support from. This can compare us citizens with the government, where we are the single individual and “others” is the government. We need the government in order to reach that organized and safe world to live and work in. The government serves as that support system where we know we can live in this world with programs, rules, and regulations that better our everyday life. Like what we talked about in class earlier this week, we used various examples of the law that help ensure our safety such as road laws and the protection over minors. Yes, there are many issues our government is struggling with, but due to our government -that did once prosper- almost all of us maintain stable lives or least have the opportunity to. Just think of a nation without these regulations, it would turn out to be Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest and our world would become pure chaos.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, there are some situations where our government should draw the line. It is obvious that once the government starts interfering with personal problems/decisions it becomes too much. For example-abortion. Abortion has become a very controversial issue in our nation, but is it not an individual’s decision to keep or not keep her baby? This baby is in fact coming out of this woman’s body-not anybody else. They should be responsible and smart enough to make the decision for something they have created-not the government‘s. This also leads to another personal decision-marriage. Marriage is a symbolism for love and commitment it is between two people, with no specification for gender. The government should not involve themselves in something they really have nothing to do with. What does the government have to do with the two people besides collect taxes? The marriage itself has nothing to do with the government yet it still stops them from committing to the person they truly want to.
Though I still believe and agree with Garry Wills statement that the government is a necessary good, because our lives without rules would be chaotic and worthless. We need these regulations to help us understand the meaning of discipline. We also need a safe and helpful system to support our everyday lives. However the government should also know when enough is enough when it comes to love and personal decision the government should back off a little. Our government has enough issues that are far more important than marriage or abortion to deal with.
I would say the best example of the presence of "too much" government would be media censorship today. I've written like two essays regarding this, so one can guess that I'm pretty frustrated with censorship's effects on American life, especially with parenting. The intention of censorship is to protect people from hate speech and “promote public decency”, which is arguably a noble cause. However, it can easily contradict citizen’s right to free speech, which is stated clearly in the 1st Amendment of our US Constitution. Censorship would include banning certain books from libraries, bleeping out cuss words and cutting scenes out from movies on TV due to having “unsuitable” content that can offend viewers. Not only that, it interferes a great deal with how families function: because parents tend to be too busy complaining to the government for not parenting their children to their standards. In addition, the overprotective nature of these parents can potentially cripple their kids’ social development and intelligence.
ReplyDeleteI believe the government is too involved in our lives and an example of this is through regulations on restrictions for businesses, transportation, and security. After the events of 911, the government evoked the Patriot Act to monitor anyone who was suspicious with their involvement in terrorism. The government watched people in every aspect of their daily life and the government suspected a large conspiracy developing terrorist threats against U.S. citizens. I believe that security is good for the protection of our country. However, at times the government goes to new extremes. For instance, with airport security the government is now enabling full body scans of people for safety. At some point they are beginning to cross the line. But on the other side if we didn't have a great protective government in our lives, everything would be complete chaos. Like the example we were talking about in class dealing with stealing. If there is no government and law enforcement, it would be survival of the fittest and the strongest person always gets what they want. When laws come in play survival of the fittest goes away. The government should be more involved in low income housing because they find the areas so low poverty that they believe the costs of repairing is not worth it to develop the area. The city of Chicago is a perfect example of this. There are so many places in Chicago that are so beat up and the government turns it back away from those problems. Also I believe the government should be more involved in border control. So many immigrants come into the country and take jobs from U.S. citizens. They work for cheaper wages and businesses can save money this way. The government needs to crack down on this issue especially because of the growing population. Our country is becoming so packed from illegal's. If these issues get reinforced our society will be better. In A Necessary Evil the author brings up a good point on how even great governments reveal their flaws sometimes. Wills explains how even great governments are accused of being wasteful and inefficient. I support this statement because there has never been a perfect government in society. If u look back on history no government has ever been so superior over another. Rome even crumbled and that society seemed indestructible. That is why I support this statement. Overall if these ideas become used more in society today, the government will be better respected and valued.
ReplyDeleteHow much government is too much?... I think that changes per individual. For me, the government becomes too much when it invades your personal life. For example, if the government were to start and control who I date or who I am allowed to hang out with or what religion I can be or even what foods I eat. Those would all be examples of too much government. I do not think our government will ever get to that point because we have a very strategic and balanced and smart system in place to prevent any sort of outragic thing like that. So in my opinion the government is involved enough in our society where it keeps individuals in line and if they get out of line handles that accordingly and is not too involved where people can’t breathe for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe only place I can come up with where the government is too involved would be our money. The government demands so much of the money we work hard to get. It’s my belief that taxes should be lowered because it’s not “Uncle Sam” earning our money it’s us as individuals. I also believe the government should not get into demanding that all individuals do something. For example, get an education, have car insurance, or even have health insurance. It’s my belief those are all things that equate to freedom. And in America that is one thing we are supposed to have till the day we die. I also feel that the government needs to I’m not sure if it’s get more involved or less but when it comes to leftover food from reasurants or buffets, that left over food should go to the homeless, NOT IN THE GARGBAGE! Why should perfectly good food get thrown away simply because it’s left over? It’s not that the food is bad or unhealthy it’s that our government is afraid if by chance someone became sick from the leftover food that business or even our government would be held responsible. I feel it is necessary that the government changes their current ways into allowing things like leftover food to go to good, not waste.
As far as the document, I found it interesting the line that said, “Market exchange is a form of contract, and the contracts would not be binding without some authority to enforce them” (303). This is because this concept has been applied to EVERY individual at some point in their lives. Anytime a business sells a product, they need some authority to ensure they get paid. Anytime you place a bet in Vegas, you need some higher authority to ensure the winner gets their share. The idea that the article was proving, every law needs something or someone to uphold it or if they don’t it essentially is not a law or rule. See the laws and rules in our society are only as good as the ones who uphold it.
On page 307 the article mentions that sometimes due to government’s laws, rules, or regulations it helps to save lives of others. For example, a paramedic needing to get to the hospital in a lickidy split, if the law didn’t state people had to stop moving and pull off to the side of the road whenever possible, who knows how many thousands of people would be dead. I have never looked at the laws in place as a way to prevent deaths or save lives. I challenge you to stop and think about which rules have saved your life. I can name one…
Along with everyone else so far, I agree that the government should only get involved when a person’s acts could potentially harm another innocent person. For example, the government should be involved in creating laws to control drugs and alcohol consumption. Although it is the individual’s choice whether or not to drink or take drugs, they could end up hurting any random passerby, which is why it is important that the government step in to preserve the safety of everyone else. However, in cases where it does not affect anyone other than that single person in the situation the government should not be involved. Marriage laws are a huge debate right now, but why should they be? Who someone decides to marry is a personal choice and it in no way harms other people whether someone marries someone of the opposite or same gender. The government should not be allowed to take away personal freedoms like this and other citizens should not be so concerned about it. There are much bigger problems than whether or not gay marriage should be legal, and those are what should be focused on. The same goes for abortion – if it does not harm other people, it should remain a personal choice and the government should not have a say in it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Wills’ statement that “we often impose conflicting demands on [the government]. We want our government to be efficient yet we want it to be accountable”. In order for the government to be held accountable there are certain procedures it must go through, which he explains with pharmaceutical companies and the need to have the FDA regulate the medicines they produce, but these procedures sometimes are not the most efficient thing to do. Does this mean the government should not regulate some things just to speed up the process? Of course not because then it would not be accountable like the people want. This was only one example of the contradictory statements that US citizens want the government to be like, and it is important for people to realize and understand that there is no way for the government to always please people and be run the way in which they want it to be. It is instances like this that make people find the government to be “evil” when in fact it is just trying to protect its citizens, which is its goal.
There is too much evil in government when the interference with civilian life expands beyond reasonable protection/service. Anything that would invade on the personal lives without intent to protect would indeed be an evil against personal freedoms. In other words, the government should focus on the public, and not the private, as it is a democracy, and each person should be governed as those who govern would be. The very fundamental elements of the United States lie in the idea that all men are created equal and that among guaranteed rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. As long as said pursuit does not interfere the rights of another, they should be protected, and government should not be involved. One area I believe the government should stay out of is marriage. Marriage is, essentially, a spiritual and religious aspect. The legal rights granted by a marriage are a civil union. When a government begins to say who can or cannot be married, it is in a sense interfering with religious freedom, where allowance of marriage should be up to a given church while civil unity should be protected to every individual. This, in my eyes, is a governmental evil. Another area in which the government is too involved is censorship. Television, radio, film, and digital communication are often influenced by censorship of the government despite the clear reality that it is interfering with freedom of artistic expression. For example, certain words are not allowed to be spoken over the airwaves, or only in moderation, in order to protect the public somehow. Slightly understandable would be to protect the youth, but even that seems to fall more into line with parenting and their ability to change the channel and to know when to do so. It certainly says a number when we need the government to fill in for the parent’s role of making sure little Johnny doesn’t hear inappropriate words. The government should be involved in managing things that would be far too big to manage without unity, such as air travel, roadways, and food and drug regulation. It would be difficult to continue on with life as it is if suddenly everything going into my body had sporadic standards and no insurance of being safe, or if I knew once on the road, someone could pop up going 90 down Lake St. Thanks to government regulations, these are not worrying my mind or inflicting my health like they would be otherwise (such as food before strict regulations on health.) Also, in regard’s to Will’s article, the most interesting aspect is how he took his book titled A Necessary Evil and devoted a whole chapter to its being “A Necessary Good.” It’s hard not to love irony sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI think the government has a difficult task at hand. It is, of course, necessary, but must find a way to enforce laws and regulations that will ensure the public’s safety without causing more problems and controversy than before. A lot of times the government’s actions are unpopular but necessary to maintain the public’s well being and structure. Will says “being human is not an evil condition, but one needing completion from others, in love and companionship, in teaching and learning, in mutual support and correction – in all of which government has a part to play”. I agree that the government must contribute to fill these gaps of humans, but at what point does it become too much? The government is considered to be too much when it infringes upon the rights and free will of the people. But then there comes the issue of free will that can cause harm and be dangerous to others. So, such things as speed limits, law enforcement officers, and even taxes are ways to protect a nation’s citizens by taking away a bit of that free will. Speed limits increase the safety of drivers, law enforcement officers protect others from possible threats, and taxes are a way to protect the businesses of America from the competition of international exports. While these take away a little bit of the public’s free will, they are accepted because of the common good they cause. But the government cannot interfere with things that go against the public’s free will and commonly seen as right. Such issues as abortion, same sex marriage, and capital punishment are all topics that the public is allowed to have an opinion on but the government should not take sides. Because these topics are so controversial, government involvement would be highly debatable and not seen at all as unanimously right. For this reason the government should simply leave things alone and let the citizens work it out. But then the question arises, where does the government need to intervene where it has not? It is no secret that our economy is horrible and we are drowning in national debt. I do not understand how we got to this point and am not quite sure how we can manage to escape it, but the government must find a way to solve this problem immediately. We are at risk of completely collapsing and the government must find the solution.
ReplyDeleteGovernment is extremely important in everyone's lives. As Wills demonstrates in his writing, there are many things which we would not be able to have without the help of a governmental system, the main one being safety. This is shown with the allegory of the children playing on a cliff, and when there are no walls they stop playing and cower in fear. Like the walls on the cliff, the government is there to protect us from getting hurt. Sometimes though, they can build walls so restrictive that they give no room to move.
ReplyDeleteI believe that currently, the government in the United States is being too restrictive in a lot of areas. Obviously marriage is a very big issue which is being debated right now, and many state governments have decided to define what marriage is for all people. They claim that they are protecting people, and protecting the "sanctity of marriage" by not allowing gay couples to marry. This is one instance where the government crosses the line. People should have the right to marry no matter gender or sexual orientation, because the fact that they can marry does not endanger anyone in any way.
Another area which the I believe the government has put too many restrictions on is that of drug use. While there should be restrictions on drugs, I believe that people should be allowed to do what they want with their bodies, as long as they are not endangering anyone. Obviously this is being addressed now with drunk driving laws(anyone over 21 is legally allowed to drink, but is restricted in what they can do, such as driving, to ensure the safety of others). How can you say that you truly have freedom when you cannot choose what to do with your own body?
The biggest issue that I see now with government is their involvement with religion. While our government was founded with the intent not to promote any certain religion, over the years it has started to do this. Having "In God We Trust" printed on most of our currency since the early 1900s, and having monuments of the Ten Commandments erected outside of courthouses show this change. This is not exclusive to the US government though, as the British government has officially adopted Islamic law, allowing sharia courts to rule over Muslim civil cases, and these rulings to be official government rulings. This sort of pandering to specific religious groups is the exact opposite thing which the government should be doing. They should be treating all of their citizens equally, no matter where they stand on the issue of religion.
Without government, our society would be chaotic, disorganized, and unstable. However, there is a line that must be drawn in order to keep the government from going too far and abusing its power. The government crosses this line when it unnecessarily intrudes on the lives of citizens and gets involved in topics that it should not be concerned with. For example, I don’t think that the government should be too involved in issues such as marriage, education, and religion. All three of these are personal choices, and I do not think the government’s help is needed in any of these national topics. Probably the most prominent thing that the government should not be concerned with is religion. Different religions stem from the ends of the earth, and people have the right to choose which one to follow. Even if the government did put regulations on religion, people would still think how they want, because that is obviously something that the government can’t control. Imagine what our society would be like without the government regulation that we need. There would be no order, and we would only be endangering ourselves. If the government had no role in our society, sure, it would be fun living with no rules for a while, but then it would become boring. Not to mention, we would be at serious risk of attack because of the lack of national security that our government normally provides. We would be missing the basic essentials for a functioning society, and all the things we took for granted would be sought after. What I am getting at is that we don’t appreciate our government enough until it is gone. Sure, there are some flaws in the system, but the government keeps us away from the 3 words mentioned in my opening sentence; chaos, disorganization, and instability. Once the government attempts to do things that go past just protecting our population and keeping things running smoothly, is when we must become worried. As Wills says, “Even the best of governments will show on occasion most of the faults that governments are accused of.” I think that what he is saying is that we must come to terms that we are never going to get a perfect government. Yes, sometimes the government does pass its boundaries, but what government does not? We have hit a rough patch in our society lately with the falling economy, the war, and national debt, but look for things to turn around eventually. I feel that a slightly defective government is always better than no government at all.
ReplyDeleteIt would be hard to argue that government is not necessary in some way. If you watch any post-apocalyptic movie its easy to see that society without government is not very successful. The real question is to whether or not it is, or can be, evil. I don’t see government as an evil thing overall. That being said I believe individuals within the government can be evil and persuade unnecessary laws and regulations. Somewhere along the line someone decided that having M games was too risky for anyone under 17, so they made the sale illegal. But who is the government to say what we can and can’t play. Event he movie industry is run on their own regulations, not law. The same is true for TV. Why can’t I hear that swear on South Park, or see more than a blur when someone flicks the bird? This is a fine example of too much regulation. When the government stops just keeping the peace, and starts regulating my entertainment I would say that that is way too far. No people want government healthcare?! Regulating healthcare would put a stop to many research companies that only produced miracle drugs for profit. This is where I draw the line. The power the government originally had was mostly peacekeeping, but people have over the years twisted it to fit their agenda. People who feel that violent videogames create more violence are misinformed, but they twist the rules around their greedy fingers because they want to be right. Obama wants to be the savior of the poor, but he alienates the middle-class people who are perfectly fine with the system now. So why even have government if I hate all the regulation? Because we need to be protected, that’s why. If the government disappeared tomorrow, who is going to protect me from being robbed? There would be no police without government, and I can’t afford a bodyguard. The government fixes roads, provides emergency services, and may even soon provide healthcare (which I think is a terrible idea). So despite my grievances, I am right with the author when he states that we are “lucky enough to have any kind of government at all”, because it’s true. It may be annoying and cumbersome at times, but this government is all that keeps the U.S. from becoming a province of mother Russia, or North Korea even. So to say that government is a necessary evil is true, but it would be better to say that it is just necessary. So my question would be, Does everybody agree with the author’s idea of a “necessary evil”, or are we being too harsh on the system that makes society exist? I think so.
ReplyDeleteThe government becomes to evil when it tries to do everything for the betterment of themselves and they are not think of the big picture, the world. The government should not get the right to go to other countries and “help” them, or so called helping them. Our government goes into countries that we believe need help, but what makes our government decide who needs help and who doesn’t, where the line is draw. I think that the country should have the right to say if they need help or not. In some cases it is okay though if they don’t have consent as long as the United Nations has a vote on whether someone should step in or not. The government becomes to evil when they are doing things for themselves like going in to other countries just because they have resources that we want. Also the government should not be focused on making the rich happy and focus on helping the declining economy to help raise the employment rate back up. I think that we should not be involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, but since we are in it we have to finish what we are doing or al the soldiers died for nothing. I believe that we should be more focused on the genocides happening in places like Africa and Myanmar. So many people are dying in those places. I believe that would be a reason to enter another country with out consent. I would agree with changing their whole government to fix them, but I would agree with what ever it took to stop the fighting and to restore peace to those countries. We should not get involved with other countries unless the rest of the world agrees on in the United Nations. I don’t think that the United States has the right to be in Iraq and Afghanistan right now. What gives us the right to be there and why are we the only ones that are there. Obviously no one is on our side if not one is helping us. What makes us the super power of the world why don’t other countries go in to other countries to “help” them, what makes us special? Government has to be up to a certain level or it would fail. I think that it is intersecting that the article was saying that government is a necessary good not a necessary evil. I have never heard it put that way that government is used for only good, most of the time it ends up getting corrupted.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Willis when he says that government is a necessary good rather than evil. Mostly because the government lays the foundations for our every day lives and keeps us safe while we go about our daily procedures. Without government people would simply have chaos. There would be no police officers and laws would be laughable and would have no enforcement. Along with the police officers, fire fighters would be nonexistent as well. People would be stuck in a society with no protection from humans or natural disasters either. The sense of order and authority would be lost and there would be no way to control anyone without force or the insertion of a new government. I also agree with Willis when he talks about the free market. He says that the state has often been seen as the enemy of the free market with its regulation. On the contrary, the free market would not even exist without the state to back it up. The state is that authority that makes contracts binding and keeps con artists from stealing people’s money. The government does regulate many things simply for the good of the people and the free market is just one of them. In addition to the free market, people would not have any roads or street lights without government. These simple things that people take for granted every single day are provided by our government. Without the government we would not have any basic structure. However, government can be too controlling at times as well. The government can change from a necessary good to a necessary evil when it begins to function in people’s personal lives when there is no reason to. The separation between church and state is a constant debate with today’s government and truly should not be debated. Religion should have no function in the government and the fact that it can attempt to outlaw abortion and gay marriage are absolutely ridiculous. If a woman does not want to keep her child she should not have to and if two people want to marry each other they should be allowed to do what they want. The government can watch over us, but most people do not want the government seeing anything and everything they do. When the government becomes too personal and begins to interfere with private phone calls and other aspects of our lives it becomes very unnecessary. The government should be focusing on the major problems in our society such as; the war, healthcare, and the economic crisis, rather than wasting time and money watching the citizens. The government’s job is to keep us safe, not watch our every move.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that a government is either a necessary good or evil is wrong because it forces people to take sides with ideas of how government should be run. The government is neither good nor evil, but it is necessary. Without the structure of a government, there would be no society, just a chaos of people fending for themselves, trying to survive. On a public scale, the government has done amazing things like build roads, schools and hospitals, have programs that help the poor, disabled and elderly. Yet the government is slowly invading the private lives of its citizens. This ranges from petty things like at what age people can see movies, to denying marriage to people based on sexual preference. Today the government acts as though it were a third parent. It controls what the majority of children can see at a certain age, what topics they learn in school, and even what games they can play. This is where I believe government is too much. All these things are the responsibilities of parents. Today, most children are in a sense raised by the government, not their parents. Instead of taking on the responsibility of raising a child properly, many parents have let the government invade the private lives of it citizens. Even with marriage, it basically is deciding who can marry and who cannot, which is not a decision the government should be making because it is a very private choice. By denying people the right to marry, is denying those people a very fundamental part of our society.
ReplyDeleteYet even with all these intrusions into the private lives of its citizens, the government still manages to do its most basic of duties, protection. With the government, society would become extremely chaotic, no morals and with everyone fending for themselves. Like in the wills reading, everyone would basically become the farmer that has to do everything for himself. Yet with the government, it gives the people a live of relative peace. Not only does the government protect us, it unites the people as a whole. Since people do not have to worry about protecting themselves, it gives them a chance to create new technologies. Without our government, our society would not have all the technologies that it enjoys today. Even with all the intrusions into the private live, the government still cannot be called evil, the people that run it can, but the government itself is just a tool, a necessary tool for the prosperous survival of all its people.
I believe author Garry Wells makes a great point from the beginning of his writing when he states that the government is a necessary good rather than a necessary evil. It seems to be typical of many Americans to be pessimists and always want to view the government as an evil force that is only there to take away their liberties when most of, if not all, the time it is ensuring that all citizens are entitled to their freedoms. Wells makes another interesting point when he states that the government is necessary because we are human. That’s not to say human’s are naturally evil by design, rather they can sometimes become easily corrupted when the opportunity presents itself and that’s where a third party (the government) is necessary to ensure fairness and equality amongst citizens. Many will choose first to gripe at any new laws or regulations the government passes, when what they don’t realize is that these laws were passed for the sole reason of the safety and protection of yourself and others. An example of this is the new texting and driving law, mostly unpopular with our generation of high school and college students because we feel we need to be in constant communication with one another at all times. If this law wasn’t passed though, imagine all the accidents that would occur and possible deaths all because we weren’t concentrating on the road. Would you rather not talk to your friends for a possible 20 to 30 minutes or have the guilt of another person’s life on your conscience for the rest of your life? Government is not taking away our freedoms by passing these kinds of laws but ensuring our safety so that we may enjoy all the other freedoms we are given to the fullest. As long as the government fully explains any laws or regulations and they are made for the safety and freedom of our citizens then their actions are justified. At the same time, however, these actions cross the line when they violate the personal and private lives of citizens. With the ever waging war on terrorism, the government believes it necessary to trace phone calls and listen in on conversations but this is a clear violation of the personal rights of citizens. When the government crosses this line they are going too far and need to step back and reevaluate if this intrusion is truly helping preserve our safety or not. If I could pose a question to the author it would be, where will our government be 50 years down the road and how will it ensure that the freedoms upon which our country was built will still be ensured?
ReplyDeleteHow much government is too much? It is a difficult question to ask because we all need government to help control our lives. Otherwise we would become chaotic as a society because there would be no rules for anyone to follow and authority to enforce any of them, but if the government controls too mush there will be a rebellion in our nation. We as people need to have regulations to help us understand what discipline is while still having our freedom. The government is the only thing that can keep our nation from not falling apart, so the government can be considered a good thing. But the government becomes a bad thing when it starts to take over the citizens’ lives without letting the citizens have the freedom to do what they want, within reason. What I mean is that the government should control crimes and food safety, but not control your religion or anything that you want to publish. The government should control things that will help your safety and your way of living life without going against the people’s basic rights. Also anything that will harm the overall health and safety of our nation the government should take control. An example would be schooling; in some ways it goes against people’s freedom to do whatever they want but if there were no schooling out nation would fall because of uneducated people in our nation. Also the recession is something the government should start taking control to help our nation get back on its feet finically. And the government should work more on the issues and problems what we face in our nation, like the US being in debt, and less on the issues in Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Korea. The government should control only some parts of issues that we face. Like the government should set rules and guidelines for businesses to help the business thrive on their own for the most part, and have the people decide if the business is good through sales. The government should also keep the separation of church and state because of the first amendment. There are many different issues that are difficult to decide on if the government should have a say on what we do. Like should the government control the health care system? I truly believe that the government should not try to control the health care system and give the American citizens their freedom to pay for their own health care system plan. But other people may think differently on that. There are many things that the government should control and not control but it must be careful not to control too much or too little because the our nation will fall if either one happens.
ReplyDeleteWhen asked “how much government is too much?” my first response would be a government that endangers its society. Yes, there are wars going on within our country over the economy, drug issues, poverty, and more, but these factors are not a result of the government. The citizens are unable to be perfect, and so the government should not be put on a pedestal of perfection either. I believe that more government the better, because although it may relieve you of your basic rights, you would be protected, and you would survive. The government does not force new laws upon Americans just to get a rise out of them; it does it because if you follow them, you are helping the country work to continue on as a super nation that can be secure. The ideas that caught my eye the most surprisingly were the ones that began the whole reading, because the way the author thinks is completely opposite to my own beliefs. I think that we should be proud and happy to have a government that, for the most part, works! Each year it works towards creating and passing ideas for the better of the people, and to meet the demands of the country. I strongly think we should appreciate the evolution our nation has made. And also on page 305, when the author addresses the fact that we give up so many more liberties than we realize, and that the grumbling about a little less obvious ones is ridiculous. They make a note of how we try so much to resist our government for being sneaky when invading our privacy, and for watching our every credit purchase, and so on, when really we should focus on all the good it does. It keeps us safe from the harm of outsiders, it puts billions of dollars towards learning more so we can heal the most complicated diseases, and it keeps the cycle of money and investments flowing to the best of its ability so that we can provide for ourselves at home. As much anger that there is for local, state, and federal government, I strongly believe that if you want to sit around and grumble, go ahead. But as you do that, there are a hundred more people who work towards standing up and making changes. Citizens of America have plenty of power to take charge. It’s all about what they demand.
ReplyDeleteThe point of too much government occurs when they begin to involve themselves in issues that get to be personal decisions for the people, instead of worrying about all of the problems we have on a national level. I agree with Willis completely when he says that the government is a necessary good, not a necessary evil. We as a country need our government as a necessary tool for our survival as a human race. The job of our government is to protect every single one of its people, and to provide them with the safest environment possible. That is what our government keeps in mind with every decision it makes as out leaders. Even though some believe that the government doesn’t keep us in their best interest with these decisions it makes but as Willis says, that is because so many people are affected by anything governors do, the reports on their activity is always contradictory. So with every decision that government makes, there are going to be people on that opposing side, because they believe that it is going to affect their life personally for the worse. But in reality everything is meant to improve the lives of the citizens, things such as this healthcare crisis. Some believe that the government is going too far by trying to require every one of its citizens to own some form of healthcare. Some are upset and believe they are going to far with that but what is so bad about knowing every person is going to be able to get the help that they need, whenever they need it no problem. People see that as a negative but I see that as another great thing that our government is doing with only the good of the people in mind. Sometimes I feel that our government goes too far when it begins to conflict with the rights of the individuals and takes away those liberties that define our people, and make our country great. I was intrigued by Willis hypothetical situations when he mentioned how it would be far more efficient to lynch people when they are charged with a crime or how pharmaceutical companies could produce medicine at a reduced price if there were no government regulations. Then he goes on to mention how of course you could be out there lynching the wrong man or taking medicine defective enough to be poisonous. But the reason we do not run into problems like this is because we have the government there looking out for us and our every need. So we should not look at our government as a necessary, but as more of a necessity because even though there is that one policy we may not agree with, we can look back on all of the other things taken care for us by our government that we should cherish every single day.
ReplyDeleteSociety would not function without a form of government. Willis is correct in saying that “government is a necessary good, not a necessary evil”. Without government, society would fail due to the lack of organization and order. We as humans are not fit to live life without government. The people of America need to stop complaining about the fact that there is a government and take an active roll. Having many people active leads to a better off government. With all this being said, government needs to have its boundaries. I believe that certain issues like gay marriage, abortion, religion, and other personal matters that the government needs to stay away. Government has no business getting involved with controlling the morals and beliefs that people have. The people of the United States deserve to have the right to manage their personal choices. Much of the above issues are all religion based. The government should not concern itself with religion at all. Our government needs to remember the need for the separation of church and state or else it will eventually fail. I am content with most of the other areas the government is involved in. Our court systems have been successful and there is a good set of laws in place that citizens abide by. It is a great point when Willis says that “being human is not evil; it just requires the assistance of others”. Humans naturally make mistakes Willis points out. The government needs to be there with laws and a court system. The United States has been successful due to the governments ability to control the natural evils of humanity. The United States needs to be more of an example for other countries. The United States, compared to many countries, is very wealthy. The government needs to use this wealth to be more involved in humanitarian efforts. We should be helping other countries not for personal gains like oil and trade, but to set an example of good government for the world. Our current efforts in Haiti are a step in the right direction. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and we should have been helping them even before the earthquake. When countries see the United States helping there is less of a need for war and countries tend to follow our example of government. It is proven that our society needs government in order to function. Now it is time to get active and think about what we want from this necessary government.
ReplyDeleteHow much government is too much?Obviously it's when the government tries to do to much. Too much government is when humans deny the fact that needing completion from others, love and companionship, teaching or learning, and mutual support in which the government is in on. It's interesting to hear Wills say this because these couple things that he pointed out plays a role in the average citizens life. At some point in their life they are either going to be teaching and/or learning new things. But where is the line, that the government should not cross? It's a very bias question because people will have different views. Government will make a decision, yet half the country does not agree with it. The government needs to stick with their decision because the recession that our country is in now, may have led from government decisions, needs help from the government more than ever. I think the government forgets about the well being of each individual because they are to caught up on trying to fix the big picture. Obviously they are doing what they think is best and our country with out government would be out of control, but how about some progress soon. The government needs to spend less money and time outside our country and more time in because it is getting hard for the average citizen to live. The government has hard decisions to make, but they are necessary decisions that need to be made and stood by if the government wants to get us out of the recession we are currently in.
ReplyDeleteThe government becomes too involved when they start putting themselves in the middle of personal issues. They should be worrying about larger issues such as war, the economy, and other things that affect the nation as a whole. When they start deciding whether or not someone can have an abortion they have interfered too much. Government is necessary to keep life running smoothly. Life without government would be chaos so it is necessary in life. The government should also be there when their people need help. Of course there is going to be people who disagree with every action the government makes. People like to sit there and criticize the government for invading our privacies and blow those up to be big issues when really they should be focusing on the positives. Without government there would be no social security to help the disabled and senior citizens who need it to survive because they can not work. People do not think the government should intervene with our free market economy but without the government it would not exist. There would be no one to enforce private property, money, and contracts so essentially they help to set it up. Also there would be monopolies dominating markets and charging outrageous prices for goods. I agree with Wills in the fact that government is a necessary good and not a necessary evil. Without it our nation would not have made the advances we have. Rules and regulations should not be seen as restrictions but a chance to allow that individual to grow because without them a lot would not be possible. Everyone likes the government when it is doing good and making our lives better which is what it usually does, but the second that people disagree with a policy or action we demand that they do a better job because we expect so much. While people might disagree with some driving laws and other regulations most likely they are for your benefit and they make sure that others are safe. The government should only take care of things on a national level and not invade the privacy and personal decisions of their people.
ReplyDeleteReading this article I came to the conclusion of something that people sometimes take for granted which I was one of those people. We all may think that the government is no good that it’s evil and has no part in our lives. Well the quote that struck me was when Will quotes from Madison “if men were angles, no government would be necessary.” In part this is true because angles can fend for themselves, they don’t need care from other and they don’t do things that would be considered “evil” well there angels. But we don’t live in a fantasy world, we are leaving a reality were not everyone is good or can fend for themselves. So that is where I feel that the government does a good job of protecting us a s citizens. Like there are speed limits, having law enforcement officers that try to stop crime. In my opinion are two of the most important thing that the government has involvement that I agree with. Because as the quote stated we are not angles and there are people that if there were no laws could make our threatened our living. Drunk driving has killed many people and if there were no laws that punished those that did drive under the influence we would see many people dying every day. So when it comes to laws like this we definitely need the government to feel safe when you go out. Because I have talked to many family member that live in Mexico and say how they wished that the government over there wasn’t as corrupt as here. The crime rate over there is thru the roof and people are sometimes afraid to even go outside in the fear that they can get murdered. Because there are cops over there as well but its very corrupted. So in that part I thank my government for making feel safe. But in the other hand I feel that there are issued that the government should not get involved with which are the things the people should have a voice to agree or disagree. For example abortion should be something that the people should decide on. Because I have a different opinion on abortion than other person my have but the government choosing a side makes all those people that disagree with there decision go against them. So the government should worry most about the things that we most need and less about things that they should let us as citizens handle ourselves. And one question in general after reading this article if you had the chose to live in a place where there was no government would you do it?
ReplyDeleteLike many others, I agree that the government is definitely necessary for the success and well-being of the people that it protects. In the reading, Willis discusses how it’s the government that makes the road laws and that it’s all as an “act of compassion and mercy to spare both the [possible] victim and the driver [of the] misery” of being in an accident. Many see the road rules as annoying and too specific, but Willis shows how, without these regulations, the world would be almost too dangerous and chaotic to even live in. There would be no roads or signs to follow, and drivers would only end up in crashing into each other and overwhelming feelings of guilt. It is just like the book Lord of the Flies. The kids stranded on the island had no “government” or rules to live by, which caused them to break out in violent ways. If they had made policies, then they could have focused more on their survival than trying to be the leader and killing each other off. The same would happen in America today if there weren’t laws to abide by. Rules are made to make our lives run more smoothly. So I believe that that amount of involvement is fine, when it deals with the safety of the citizens based on the actions of others.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the government is way too involved in matters like abortion and gay marriage. When the matter is strictly personal, the government has no room to try and control the situation. If a woman didn’t mean to get pregnant and can’t support a baby and give it the care it needs, the government has no right to say that she has to keep the baby. It’s the mother’s choice and it’s really not affecting anyone else besides her. The same goes for gay marriage. If two people of the same gender love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together, then they should be able to just as easily as a heterosexual couple. The government can’t decide whether or not two people can get married. It has bigger things to worry about, and if it spends all this time focusing on matters that only affect the one or two people making the decisions, then the government will never get anything done that can actually help the whole country.
My opinion is the government becomes to evil when it fully takes over. Like the personal choices you make and you have no thought on your own. For example when a government takes away your choice of opinion, and choice like from what religion you want to be a part of to the types of clothing style and food choice you choose. They already have put a lot of laws that you have to obey, and if they were to completely take over then that would make everything a lot worse, and you wouldn’t have the freedom of choice and the right to be an individual. There are already some things that the government does that make them evil. Like having laws in certain states saying you cannot marry the same sex. That seems to me like it’s a person choice and how the person feels, and taking that away that right is very controlling and one sided. Also many states do not recognize marriages that are under the age of 18. I think that if you’re married you’re married and it is strange that you have to ignore the facts just because they were married in a different state. I think that the government needs to spend less time thinking of laws to go against things that aren’t causing any problems for the world, and things that are really damaging our country, and other countries. From schools, child care troubles, health, the huge debts and the earthquake that just happened in Haiti; one of the most needed help countries in the world. The thing I found most interesting in the reading of “A Necessary Evil” by, Harry Wills, was that people are more resentful of the government when they are making laws that make you safe. I agree one hundred percent with the laws on wearing a seatbelt and having a helmet on at all time while riding a motorcycle because those are things that keep citizens safe, and if you choose not to abide by them then that is putting your life in danger, and should not be put up on the government because they were trying to help you, “We do not often reflect on the multiple ways that government insensibly affects (and improves) our lives. We tend to advert to rules only when irritated by some peripheral annoyance connected with them. Is it too much to freight minor rules?” People need to understand the government is trying to do good, and cannot make everyone happy but to go crazy over a simple rule of the road to make citizens safe seems to be a little over board. I believe that the government is doing good and bad, but I feel they are trying to make everyone happy and so far just need to figure out what the citizens need, rather then what they want.
ReplyDeleteI think the government in some aspects should be more involved in what society needs right now to be fixed rather than worry about what is going on in other countries. The United States is in such a debt that I really do not think can be fixed if we worry about other countries problems. I do agree with sending aid to countries like Haiti in disaster, but when the United States goes into countries like Afghanistan and other countries in the Middle East, I think we are just wasting valuable time and money. The government spends so much money on sending troops over there, that money can be spent on fixing our own problems. Our government thinks it can have whatever it wants when it goes into another country and I think that is a huge problem in this country’s economic crisis right now. Another thing the government should concentrate more on is the problems that face the youth of America. Kids do not have the correct education needed to be able to one day run this country. Kids today worry more about themselves and not about their education. Families are more worried about paying their past due bills and being able to put food on the table. Kids have to go to work instead of going to college. Furthering ones education is not as much of a priority as it once was. The government has to fix the crisis with unemployment and stop raising the prices of everything and taxes. I think the government should not get involved with people’s choices in their personal life. The government should however get involved when a person is going to harm or be harmed. The government gets involved with overall things but when it comes down to a single individual or a group of individuals they seem to have been too involved. What I’m trying to say is, for example, the government set rules, overall, for each district, region, area, etc and then they think that they are all set and have positively affected the area. But they do not look at how that can affect a single person. They are “for the people” and say that yes they do have a voice and we listen. NO they do not. They give a specific amount of time for a person to speak their concerns and if the government does not like it then they will not even bother to respond. So therefore the government is trying to “fix” the economy when if they only listened to the individuals that have something to say maybe they can fix this problem working with us as an all. But until then, nothing will be done.
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ReplyDeleteI think Gary Wills hit the target when he said we need it to run the Country. I believe that the government has specific topics it should do more about and other topics it does not do as much about. To have a government is needed, we could not be America if we did not have a government. But it should only go so far in its actions. I believe that the government should be focusing on providing for its own people and make sure everything is ok here before going to other countries. Iraq and Afghanistan seem like they are a waste of time, you can kill some terrorists but you cant rid the world of them. As for Haiti i think we should be helping them, but everybody else should be too. As for topics such as abortion and gay marriage i do not believe the government should be in the middle of it. It is something the state should decide and the individual should decide. Then theres the issue of health care, i believe that we should have a health care system similar to England, Canada, and France. People should not be dieing because they cant afford to pay the hospitol bill and the health care system denies them payment. People should not be denied payments if they have insurance and people should not go into debt so far deep that they will never come out of it the rest of their lives because they get sick. The government should be involved in this and it needs to be fixed immediately. I believe that the government should be making laws for our safety and the people need to stop complaining about this. For example when terrorists are bringing bombs onto planes the government enforces more laws into how to get on a plane, but the people complain. They complain that a terrorist was able to get onto the plane with a bomb but they do not want to abide by new laws to protect you from those very terrorists.
ReplyDeleteAnyone that says our government is evil has only themselves to blame. Because we live in a democratic society, the people are given a choice in what they can get out of their government. If they want limited government involvement in their life, they can vote Republican. If they want more government involvement in their life, they can vote Democrat. Because our officials are elected, they often only care about being reelected so they can maintain their power. The government goes bad when the reelection of officials goes out of sync with the will of the people. Many sitting representatives and senators right now are going against their campaign platforms for the purpose of making money from lobbies or for other sinister motives. If we the people hold our officials accountable for the ideals they ran for, and threaten to vote them out of office if the don’t, they will follow our orders to a T. Politicians fear being voted out more than death, and the corrupt ones are the ones who can go against the will of the people but maintain the façade of a loyal representative. As brought up in the reading, our government is not a living, breathing thing, it is merely made up of the people we voted into it. If we think the government is evil, it’s because we voted the people in that made it evil. If we want our government to not be evil, we must distance ourselves from the distractions in life and focus more on what’s affecting our lives in the government. Often in our democracy, people act too little too late. They take no interest in politics until something like the financial crisis or the Iraq war happens. Then everyone is all up in arms saying that the government is corrupt and irresponsible. If the American people had taken even a small interest into what was going on in the government, we would have stopped the financial crisis or any unnecessary wars from happening. It’s the responsibility of the people to make sure the government does not turn evil, and anyone that calls the American government evil did not do enough to stop it from becoming that way.
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ReplyDeleteJosh posed the question “does anyone have a logical explanation for how universal health care does not appose the concept of a capitalistic society?”
ReplyDeleteI believe universal healthcare does not appose Capitalism.
You believe it is the job of the American government to protect its citizens from drunk drivers and criminals, so should it not also be the job of the American government to protect its citizens from sickness and disease? It is a fear among conservatives that the government is trying to take their hard earned money through taxes and give it to the poor people (also known as “spreading the wealth around”). But the government is already doing this with no outcry from the American people. Some programs that are already socialized in America are the roads, the fire department, and the police. Would it be fair for the fire department to drive to an American citizen’s house and then refuse to put out the fire because that citizen is not covered by Fire Insurance? You say that only people between jobs should be provided insurance until they can find a new job, but what if the person can’t get a new job because of a sickness they have? Not to mention it would be almost impossible to monitor every American that is between jobs and needs insurance. The proposed healthcare plan would actually save rich business owners money. Yes they have to pay the higher taxes for universal healthcare, but now they wouldn’t be required to provide health insurance to their employees.
Obama’s public option stays true to the ideals of Capitalism. There is a public option, but all of the free market insurance companies would all still be in business and allowed to compete with the public plan. As it is right now, the insurance companies conglomerate together to rip off the American people. A neutral public option would force them to drive their prices down to a fair amount. As for the concern of illegal immigrants abusing our system, its not like an illegal immigrant could walk into a doctor’s office without proper identification and receive a heart transplant. Not to mention the dozens of countries with universal healthcare are mainly just abused by Americans who got screwed by their insurance company. Money is scarce these days, but the money spent on new taxes would easily be offset by the money saved by not having high insurance premiums or having your coverage dropped.
According to Thomas Hobbes,an English philosopher, human nature is such that if there were no rules or a law enforcing institution in the government, it would be a war of every man against every man. The government regulates the activities of individuals in a manner such that the freedom guaranteed by democracy to everybody is not infringed upon by the selfish acts of few. Apart from the protection of these basic rights of people, I believe that government interference in our private lives is not acceptable. Systems such as welfare and progressive taxes do not seem quite right. The government should definitely work towards the increase in the standard of living of the whole nation but it should not be by snatching well-earned money from the rich in the form of progressive taxes just because they have some extra money whereas some others are not so fortunate. You can't make a country prosperous by taking from those who have and giving to those who have not. I agree with Josh's statement claiming that the government should only have the power to interfere when lives are at stake. I believe that a government system is supposed to protect mankind simply from itself.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that our government bailing out private businesses is unnecessary. I beilieve that the free market will fix itself in the end without government interference. For example, when the government bailed out GM and Chrysler, the salaries of their union employees were still higher than employees in the same industry, and therefore are unable to compete with other car manufacturers. In the end, GM and Chrysler still had to lay off their union workers. One has to ask himself where does this process end? Why does one industry get bailed out, but not another? The taxpayers of America are paying dearly for GM and Chrysler's bad decisions. Our government is rewarding bad behavior, bad business practices, and squashing industry competition. How is this good for America?
There are areas in society where government needs to intervene for the simple reason to keep society safe. For example, I believe the government has an obligation to draft all able citizens to defend this nation if necessary. Many would disagree with this statement but what good is a free nation if you are not willing to defend it? Some government intervention is absolutely necessary while other government regulation is detrimental to its people.
The government is definitely a necessary good and evil. Both play off of each other to create a balanced government. It will never be perfect no matter how hard people try to make it. I believe that our current situation with government interference with society has been successful. We have our government protecting us and our rights, helping us maintain a stable life, and insuring a promising future. The government does not control every aspect of our lives, we have free will to do what we want. Unless of course one breaks the laws which leads to earned punishment. Overall, the government leaves citizens space to live their own lives and make their own decisions but with guidelines. And I believe that these guidelines are respectable. Too much government would entitle taking away basic rights, interfering with person judgments and beliefs, and leaving citizens without room to breathe. Areas that I believe government shouldn't be involved would include basic rights of the citizen. I do stand behind the government with getting involved in abortions. I think that unless one is in a situation where they did not agreed to participate, the government should step in and try and put regulations or a complete end to abortions. Like I said before, we all have free will but there are guidelines that need to be followed. When there is a situation regarding life and death of a living human, the government needs to step in. Just because a couple made a mistake, does not give them a right to take away another life. I think that government should definitely get more involved of how we treat war criminals. It is completely ridiculous that war criminals are tried on the same level of rights as an American citizen. Once someone takes away lives of another person all of their rights should dissapear. Anyone who takes away lives of another should not have a second chance. Government needs to get more strict on that level. Another aspect that government needs to get more involved in is increasing the numbers of production that happens in the US. For some reason, we as country has fell very short of that. All of our goods are made by foreign countries. This will ultimately lead us to be controlled by these countries. They hold the deed to our country, and if it hasn't already happed already, the government needs to start encouraging more production in the United States. Overall though, our government is balanced with government interference but there is always aspect to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteGovernment is a necessary evil but it becomes too much when the government gets involved with people’s personal decisions and beliefs, instead of taking care of the nationwide problems and getting us out of debt. I agree with most of what Gary Willis said, especially when he said, “the government is a necessary good, not a necessary evil”. Our government is like our big brother because our government is what protects not only our rights but us in every aspect of life. Although there are many of those who disagree with a lot of the government decisions, it is mostly because every single decision affects all people differently. I believe that if every single person had free healthcare, the country would be much better. However, there are those who would disagree with me and believe that giving everyone healthcare is an example of the government going too far and getting too involved. I do believe that the government is too involved with media censorship. The harsh FCC laws contradict a person right to freedom of speech. I believe that censorship should be used to protect people from hate speech. I believe that the line between hate speech, and freedom of speech is a thin one and should be reviewed. One thing that the government needs to get more involved with is airport security. Ever since September 11th, airport security has increased drastically but seeing how kids can bring bombs on an airplane shows that there are still loopholes in that system. I believe that airport security should be top notch no matter what and that the government needs to make that a priority. The separation between church and state is a constant debate with today’s government and shouldn’t be debated in my opinion. Religion should have no function in the government, along with the outlaw abortion and gay marriage. The government should have no say in whether a person wants to have an abortion or not and shouldn’t have the right to say who can marry who. It shouldn’t matter whether the genders are opposite or the same and I believe the government shouldn’t have that type of power or authority. I believe that the government always tries to have more and more power just to keep things civil, and remind people the rules. However, I believe they can do those things without interfering with a citizens personal decisions nor beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThe United States has had the world’s most successful, yet often scrutinized, government since it became the world’s lone super power after the break up of the USSR. I agree with Willis in that there has to be some parts of the government that not everybody will like in order for the country to be safe, but I disagree with the amount of freedoms our government has imposed on. Our government has the problem of doing too much often times. An example of this would be that our country often takes the role of being world police and regulating issues that have nothing to do with us. I think if nobody is getting hurt and our country isn’t being threatened we don’t need to be in charge of affairs halfway around the world. Also, our government invades people’s privacy with the Patriot Act where it is now legal to tap wires and personal communications. I disagree with Willis in that it is ok for any government to use fear as a tool, which somewhat explains my loathing of the Patriot Act. It is absolutely not the government’s business to deny any two adults marriage just because of their gender. Its just frankly not any of the government’s business to step in and prevent a marriage. The government also is over regulating the economy. It is one thing to bail out banks, but to bail out a car company is ridiculous. We’re supposed to be a capitalist country, which means letting businesses succeed and fail freely (freely to an extent). Bailing out a failing company because their products have become inferior doesn’t make sense. GM is basically set right back up to fail all over again. They’ve been losing money and have been on the decline for a while now; they haven’t show that they are going to bounce back. The average people who aren’t losing millions of dollars should see some of that money.
ReplyDeleteThe situations that are government isn’t actively involved in are just as important. There is still a big homeless problem in the United States and the worse the economy gets, this problem will only get bigger. We give so much money and aid to people oversees (not saying that’s a bad thing), but we have a lot of people right here at home who are very bad off.
I contradict that the government today is a necessary evil. I believe exclusively with Gary Wills when he states, “Government is a necessary good, not a necessary evil”. If we did not have a government citizens would have no guidelines, no limitations, and no overall structure. Every citizen lives by the government’s regulations everyday. The government keeps us from mass chaos. The government enforces that bad behavior results in punishment keeping every citizen safe, they control citizens money what comes in and out primarily keeping our economy from bankruptcy, they have a no child left behind program which boosts education for everyone, and they enable every citizen a chance to live by their own beliefs, giving them as much freedom as we citizens deserve. I feel that citizens overall just look at the faults, mistakes, and negativity that sometimes the government does. However, in reality the government does so much good for our economy and adds a lot of positive aspects to our lives. The government is what keeps our economy running in a structured way, I feel with them restrictions and the state our economy is in right now they are doing the best that they can do. They are also fair and try to keep up with our citizens needs. Every citizen over 18 is offered a chance to vote on a change that could be made; the government fairly contends to its citizens needs. They government though buds into situations and things that they should really have no say in whatsoever. They appear to get involved with peoples personal beliefs that should really have no say in. One big topic would be abortions. Abortions I truly believe should be one’s personal decision on whether they have one or not. It is their life, their belief that should not be controlled by the government. It just is not fair. It is taking away their freedom to make their own decisions. Another topic that has been discussed for years would be gay marriage. Gay marriage is two individuals choice. I feel if they want to be together than should. It really takes away from their essential happiness, overall freedom, and moral beliefs. They are grown adults who should have the freedom to do whatever they want to and make the choices they want to. The government should not interact with decisions regarding if gay marriage is allowed or not, it just is not their place to put in their two senses. The government really is essential for all humans and is greatly needed to maintain a sufficient economy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the guy because our country definitely needs a strong government that sets laws and regulations. Without a strong government it would be completely impossible to control the citizens and would result in absolute chaos. How much government is too much? Well the denial of gay marriage is too much because there are far more important things to worry about than whether or not someone can marry the same sex. The government crosses the line by not allowing gay marriage. The government is also too much when a random car/ person is checked or searched without any apparent reason. No human should have their privacy taken away by authorities because of the look of someone or the time of day. Searching without definite reason causes the government to have too much control over the people. Finally wire taps and cell phone checks also violate ones privacy and are definitely considered too much. Unless a person has had past trouble with the law or any other serious concern that may harm people, no citizen should have people listening to your phone calls, reading mail or text messages. There are many situations that the government is in but definitely should not be. The government bailed out General Motors in July for $50 billion dollars. Henderson, the CEO of GM, said he planned to repay for U.S. Investment, but did not say with how much money. The government had no business bailing out General Motors because if their cars did not sell before the bailout, then what makes you think they will sell after. The government also should not have been apart of some of the bank bailouts. Some of the bailouts just result in too much government involvement and not capitalist. Although the government is involved in many things that they shouldn't be, there are also plenty that they should be involved in. All around the country there are good portions of homeless people laying around the cities which not only looks bad, but it is not right. Instead of a bailing out companies for billions of dollars, some of the money should go towards homeless people and getting them food and shelter. War veterans also could use help instead of having some of them suffer with no treatment or benefits. Tougher immigration is among one of many issues that the government should take involvement on. Too many illegal immigrants are sneaking into this country and taking jobs for very cheap and do not even get taxed. If the government can limit the amount of illegal immigrants there may be a small uprising in jobs. With many different opinions on the government there needs to be some sort of agreement on the controversial issues because some of them are whats hurting this country.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things said in the reading was “John Locke’s social contract, which teaches that government is founded on a necessary loss of freedom, not on the enhancement of liberty” government was once believed to be what gave us our freedom. It’s what separated us from everyone else in the world that we had a government that gave its people freedom. This is very ironic when all our government does is take freedoms away from its people. The government does have control over our actions but when the government goes too far is to control who we are as people. It is the government’s job to protect its citizens whether it is from other countries or even ourselves. But when the threat isn’t physical then the government has no right to step in and stop the event. The government has no right to be dealing with issues such as religion because that was one of the freedoms given to us when the constitution began and that goes along with abortion. It is a belief of the people which the government should have no control of. The government is supposed to set rules to protect the freedoms of its people but instead all it does is take freedoms away from people. Like the marriage laws that say two men or women cannot get married to each other even though they may be in love. There are areas that government needs to just accept as a loss, and stop trying to interfere with. I believe that bailing out all these car companies does nothing for the nation but put all of us into debt and ruin the nation. Getting involved with the car industry weakens it forever getting rid of competition therefore probably ruing it forever. So there is a point where government has gone too far and that is when it takes control of the choices and emotions of its people and as John Locke said stops enhancing our liberty but hindering our freedoms.
ReplyDeleteA good government must be efficient and specific in its duties of intervention.
ReplyDeleteGovernment intervention Theorem
The government should intervene in free exchange if and only if personal and, or business interests contradict or infringe on the interests of the population.
1. Government must intervene in healthcare for society’s need for better care contradicts the business interest of profitability. (life and health trumps profits)
2. Government is responsible for military actions and should not outsource military roles to firms for they are concerned with profitability. (life and international relations trump profits)
3. Government must intervene to regulate fair banking practices to insure the nation’s economic wellbeing.
Government is a necessary good, according to the article but to me it seems more like a necessary evil. Everyone is required to give up some of their rights so that everyone can coexist happily. If your rights interfere with other people's rights, then you give up that right so that when someone else tries to interfere with your right they are also stopped. Without government, when someone did something that impacted someone else negatively, there would be no way to stop them because everyone would have equal power. By electing people to have more power over us, we are insuring that someone will take charge in the event of an emergency, or in case something goes wrong. They should be able to help us when we need it, but government is just a precaution for when all else fails. Therefore, they shouldn't constantly be stepping in to "help" us when we don't really need it. If people are dying and our country is being attacked, then I am okay with government stepping in to help the people of the United States. But when they just think that some people need better health care, I don't think that everyone should need to give up their right to choose what health care they want just so that everyone receives equal care. The United States is a place where people come to achieve their dreams, but when Government constantly steps in to equalize everyone it takes away too many of our rights and makes people frustrated with the way things are being controlled.
ReplyDeleteOne example of something that Government is trying to get involved in that I do not believe it should be is health care. Most people do not want it, but Obama can still pass it. Therefore, the Government is trying to pass a bill that most people don't want and they are imposing it on everyone. This bill will force people to buy from a private company and the government should not have that power. I believe that the national government should only deal with issues as a last resort and that the local and state government should handle as many issues as possible because they are closer to the problem and can see what's really going on. Also people are better represented by the local government than the national one. I think that national government should remain small, and that issues such as schooling exc. should be handed by the state because government laws such as "no child left behind" are not working as well as planned.
The Governemt is a nessacery evil, becuase it keeps order. Without it life would be very dangerous because everyone would be able to do what they want, meaning steal aor kill from people. Laws that protect us from inequality, economic instability, and greedy forces in the business world. When the governemt starts being really evil would be when they have strippeed away someone's personally freedoms and not letting them make decisions. that would also be a sign of to much government. But i feel that the government isn't really that involed because it's not like thier restricting our actions alot. The government is involved in many of things, many experiments that they shouldn't be doing. Like experimenting on aniamls is unnessacery but an anction they must make for they make sure the product we use are safe. Some feel this is wrong but would they countine to think this if the products they use hurt them or damaged them? the governemt is invloved in alot but i would say that they need to be invloved more in globel warming. I feel this is important because air is a vitual part to a living being and if we can't controls this then things are going to be bad. i also feel that the governemt should not be invloved with other countries as much and be more foused about whats happening here and with our people. after reading this article i found nothing really interesting, maybe because i didn't understand him or see where he was comming from. When he stated that "An angel has no body, no igronant youth to be enlightened, no need for others." i feel really lost with this. is he referring to that we are angels and that based of things the governement does it turns us against each other? i did however like the fact that he gave examples from the past in showing us how the governemt is evil or good but yet still nessacery.
ReplyDeleteIt's all a matter of perspective. To a Wall Street executive, tough regulations on business is going too far, where as an average person would see them as a good thing to have. With health care, people who don't have it or can't afford it think that a government plan is needed, while insurance companies see that as controlling them. From my point of view, government should just stay out of our personal lives, which would include some current moral issues such as gay marriage, abortions, and drugs. It's not the government's right to tell us who we marry or what substances we put into our systems. However, I do think that it's important that the government does have strict regulations on business and provide health care, because, even though these are private operations, they affect people on a national scale.
ReplyDeleteI have always found government to be overruling within our society. I had always thought that it just made our lives worse and more complicated and I truly did not have any interest in being a part of it. This reading has revealed that many of us do not appreciate the good things that the government does for the well being of U.S citizens. In fact, many people focus on the bad things that the government does and strive to change it. That is why our government is so great; it allows us to change it if it does not meet our needs. Wills says that there are three levels in which the state is a positive good, “the physical, the intellectual, and the affectionate”. These parts of the government allow us as people to do everyday things successfully without much trouble or worry. We can worry less about our own personal safety due to the government’s regulations as well as many other things. The government is able to be great, but at the cost of a lot of time and money, which eventually becomes a big problem. We all want an efficient government, but we also want it to be accountable. People often complain of secrecy during wartime, but it is said the confidentiality is necessary from the public in times of trouble. But how can U.S citizens be a part of the government if much information is kept hidden? It is during times like that where we need to have faith in our government, but it is not always an easy thing to do, especially when things like war and recession are going on. People also find it harder to trust the government if it is not telling the public every little detail. I do not blame the government though because today people go crazy over the littlest things. They criticize every little word that comes out of the President’s mouth and analyze it to the point that his words sound ridiculous to the public eye. A lot of the miscommunication comes from the media. The government should not get too involved with the citizens money. Obviously taxes are part of the government and our economy, which is okay, but it should not further its place in the pockets of the people. Many officials are pushing for control of the health care system, but I think the government should not take control of it. Our government is not in the best financial situation. We are in trillions of dollars in debt therefore Americans should worry about their own health care as opposed to the federal government. They are not on the personal basis that most of us are in; they are focused on the nation as a whole, which makes it more difficult to satisfy the individual needs of people. In conclusion the government is good in regards to basic human rights and needs, but it should not over involve itself in Americans lives.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ray Mika when he said, “I think Gary Wills hit the target when he said we need [the government] to run the Country.” It is quite obvious that a government is needed in order to keep our country stable, but as the question asks, “at what point does it become too evil?”
ReplyDeleteI feel like the government becomes too involved once it starts to influence the personal decisions of its people as a society. If the government is providing its people with propaganda and bias, they are corrupt the people and becoming even more evil. The reason for our democracy is to have a government represented by the people, for the people, but if that very same government is purposefully, or even accidentally, influencing the citizens, the government no longer represents the original ideas of the people, but now the government is represented by the citizens which have their ideas given to them by the government. So basically, if the government influences the ideas and viewpoints of society as a whole, the government will be represented not by the people, but by itself.
When I read, “Are there areas in society where government isn't involved but should be?” I immediately thought about the many areas in which it is necessary for the government to be involved. Such as laws which provide safety, such as speed limits, and the TSA.
But I also thought about the many areas in which the government should be less involved. I agree with Andrew Sipes when he said, “the government becomes too much when it invades your personal life”. I think the government does a good job at making sure it doesn’t invade our personal lives too much, but there is still some overlap into our lives. Again I like how Andrew brought up the idea that it is the law to have certain things, such as driving insurance. I think that if should be required, but I don’t think it should be a law. Not the best of examples but it shows how the government uses its power to enforce a certain “lifestyle” upon society as a whole.
I liked the article because it brought up many points which I had never even thought of, and it really made me think. In particular when Wills said, “Being human is not an evil condition…” because this statement really made me think about how the evil of people is not necessarily the fault of the individual.
I also was just wondering if anyone feels as though the government hasn’t affected their life in a negative, or “evil”, way at some point.
I noticed how Laura Menta brought up that she doesn’t like being at the airport so early, but she knows it is necessary for her safety, but I just wonder if anyone thinks the government does a great job and does not negatively affect them at all.
Government is never a bad thing. It is the people who are running it which can make it evil. The idea itself and its necessity are both real, and extremely important. Willis highlights the fact that humans need interaction and communication with others, along with many other necessities, that the idea of government easily fills. Those running a government are the ones who can create the problems, which is why I think people perceive government as a necessary evil instead of a simple necessity. Due to the fact that all people have their own opposing viewpoints and feelings about certain subjects such as abortion or the healthcare system, there will always be something that someone else has a problem with. In order to provide for these opposing viewpoints, there must be less control over what people choose to do in these situations instead of more. The more people are allowed to follow their opinions and are not hurting or infringing on others’ choices around them, the less people will complain. In some situations less government means more support for the government. This leads to the question of, “how much government is too much?”
ReplyDeleteGovernment becomes too powerful when those running it decide to impose their opinions on other people through the laws that they create. When a person with power in the government feels strongly about gay marriage and decides that he wants to create a law to ban it, he is imposing his ideas on everyone who is affected by that law. Is that not, in itself, taking his rights and making them infringe on the rights of others? Government protects the people with its rules and ideas, but those who have power in the government tend to bend them. The government itself is not flawed, it is the people who decide to speak for it. It is for this reason that a form of government such as communism looks like a great idea on paper but when put into practice becomes a disaster.
I found it interesting that our government decided to keep so much information from us in order to protect us from harm, when it was creating things that could cause so much harm to other people. People have become so discontented with government because of what it hasn’t done when, in reality, it has been doing so much and simply been too afraid to tell us. It seems that dishonesty and deception from the government ends up benefiting everyone except the country that it is trying to protect. All of the deception from the government simply creates mistrust among the people.