Have We Outgrown Our Government?
Lisa Almanzar
POL 101-09
Prof. Arbour
October 7, 2013
Have We Outgrown Our Government?
Given the current government shutdown, the crisis and anxiety that the country is now facing has now brought to light a question that many do not take into consideration in our current day. Is the current United States government efficient enough to run our prosperous and quite large country? Although many people believe that our government is a Democracy, they would be surprised to learn that our government, in essence, is actually a constitutional republic. Our government is NOT ruled by a majority, but instead is ruled by an already enforced set of laws that are interpreted and enforced on to actions that the government and its people want to participate in; and can only be changed by amending the current list of unalienable laws that are given to us by this Constitution. Even with this understanding, our country still came to this governmental standstill that has threatened to throw us into another, more devastating economic depression. So then we ask, what exactly is wrong with our government? After reviewing articles and listen to Professor Arbour’s lecture on the advantages to a parliamentary government, I’ve been able to come to a sound conclusion. The Constitutional Republic that we currently have is no longer functional, and that we must adapt and change to a more unicameral, majoritarianistic, parliamentarian system of government, if we wish to see our country thrive as it once did.
To understand the root of the problem, we first have to understand the major difference between a unicameral, parliamentarian type of government I am arguing for, and the bicameral, constitutional republic that we are currently ruled by.
In a parliamentarian system, there is only one unicameral chamber, of only ONE political party. The party that is elected has a strong stance, its ideology is well known and can be expected to be followed thoroughly, and it is
POL 101-09
Prof. Arbour
October 7, 2013
Have We Outgrown Our Government?
Given the current government shutdown, the crisis and anxiety that the country is now facing has now brought to light a question that many do not take into consideration in our current day. Is the current United States government efficient enough to run our prosperous and quite large country? Although many people believe that our government is a Democracy, they would be surprised to learn that our government, in essence, is actually a constitutional republic. Our government is NOT ruled by a majority, but instead is ruled by an already enforced set of laws that are interpreted and enforced on to actions that the government and its people want to participate in; and can only be changed by amending the current list of unalienable laws that are given to us by this Constitution. Even with this understanding, our country still came to this governmental standstill that has threatened to throw us into another, more devastating economic depression. So then we ask, what exactly is wrong with our government? After reviewing articles and listen to Professor Arbour’s lecture on the advantages to a parliamentary government, I’ve been able to come to a sound conclusion. The Constitutional Republic that we currently have is no longer functional, and that we must adapt and change to a more unicameral, majoritarianistic, parliamentarian system of government, if we wish to see our country thrive as it once did.
To understand the root of the problem, we first have to understand the major difference between a unicameral, parliamentarian type of government I am arguing for, and the bicameral, constitutional republic that we are currently ruled by.
In a parliamentarian system, there is only one unicameral chamber, of only ONE political party. The party that is elected has a strong stance, its ideology is well known and can be expected to be followed thoroughly, and it is