Comprehensive Assignment #3

Joseph Thomas
PS 101
Dr. McCombs
June 26, 2010
Comprehensive Assignment #3
In the past chapter I learned that although linked, political ideology and political opinion differ in distinct ways. The citizens of the United States don’t all have an underlying political ideology but most people do have some sort of political opinion for time to time. Americans do have a similar set of ideals however they hardly make up an equal group. In America the government we have relies heavily on the importance of public opinion. Even though the media tends to act as if there are only conservative and liberals few people actually have and believe in unchanging fundamental beliefs on all subjects. People can be labeled as liberal, conservative, and moderate. These labels are used to define political ideology and political opinion. Ideologies do not change from day to day or from subject to subject but opinions do.
The past work that I have done in this comprehensive assignment begins with my argument for a strong central government that James Madison also called for. In this paper I argue that America needs to continue to have a strong central government and that only a strong central government will be able to govern fifty states. Looking back this view does indicate political leanings that I did not realize I had. I was unaware that my democratic ideas of having government use taxes to regulate reflects the same idea of have a strong central government that I had in the first paper. I believe that without regulation powerful companies will not keep with public morals and beliefs and will dominate and control the public well-being. This is why we need to have regulation and also this is why in the beginning I agreed with James Madison in saying that we need a strong central government.
The next comprehensive assignment that I completed was based around a particular political cartoon. This cartoon was based on the right to freedom of speech. It mocked the idea of freedom of speech. The setting of the cartoon was in a vast ocean where there were many different types of fish. The ocean represented the world that we live in and the fish represented the people in the world. Freedom of speech is supposed to be given to everyone and in the illustration everyone is using it. However the main idea was in the size of the fish. The each fish represented that the people have the right to freedom of speech; however, the bigger fish are eating the smaller fish. This represents the fact that the bigger and more powerful you are the more your opinion matters. The least powerful person may have a voice but it is over shadowed by the speech or opinion of the more powerful people. This cartoon is intended for people in Eastern Europe who were realizing that even though they had freedom of speech that they were not powerful enough for it to matter what opinions they had. This cartoon shows my conservative side. I believe that government should be strong but I also believe that the people should be allowed their freedoms and that no matter how big the country gets we should never forget the little guy and the small businesses and their place in the development of the country and the country’s economy.
Looking back I can see evidence of my Pew Typology in my cartoon and essay. As I look forward to the rest of the term I believe that I am going to embrace my political ideology and use it in future projects to learn more about myself and what I truly believe in.