"Why the Majority Doesn't Rule on Guns"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2017/10/05/why_the_majority_doesnt_rule_on_guns_135181.html
The title of the article "Why the Majority Doesn't Rule on Guns" by E.J. Dionne made me think of what we have been learning in class because it discusses the disparity between public opinion and public policy. It describes the failure of many gun bills in congress despite overwhelming support. We have learned in class that congress must often go against the people's wishes in order to better the country. We have also learned that it is difficult to please such a divided population. However, Dionne hints at other motivations for the lack of progress on gun control. The first reason discussed is that congressman are merely the puppets of major corporations like the NRA. No matter how the majority feels, congress will help whoever pays them the most. The other reason is that the senate gives disproportional representation to small states and rural voters through its use of equal representation rather than the more accurate proportional representation used by the house. Through this system, Dionne says, it is possible for "senators representing just 16 percent of Americans to overrule those representing 84 percent." He ends his article by stating that, while gun regulations are very important, the only way to ensure long term security in the United States is to reform congress to fairly represent the American people. I agree with Dionne because I think it unfair for someone's feelings in Wyoming to be equal to those of millions of people in California. I also think that, if the United States is at all a government of the people, by the people, for the people, then the NRA should not have more say in government than the majority of the population. In the most recent Gallup poll on the subject, the number of people supporting new gun control measures outnumbered their counterparts 60 percent to 38 percent. It is strange to me that such an overwhelming majority can be so easily discarded in the face of enough money.
Mute souls end in silence
Oceans tainted with blood
Empty promises of hope
Buried deep, infected ground
-Sepultura
The title of the article "Why the Majority Doesn't Rule on Guns" by E.J. Dionne made me think of what we have been learning in class because it discusses the disparity between public opinion and public policy. It describes the failure of many gun bills in congress despite overwhelming support. We have learned in class that congress must often go against the people's wishes in order to better the country. We have also learned that it is difficult to please such a divided population. However, Dionne hints at other motivations for the lack of progress on gun control. The first reason discussed is that congressman are merely the puppets of major corporations like the NRA. No matter how the majority feels, congress will help whoever pays them the most. The other reason is that the senate gives disproportional representation to small states and rural voters through its use of equal representation rather than the more accurate proportional representation used by the house. Through this system, Dionne says, it is possible for "senators representing just 16 percent of Americans to overrule those representing 84 percent." He ends his article by stating that, while gun regulations are very important, the only way to ensure long term security in the United States is to reform congress to fairly represent the American people. I agree with Dionne because I think it unfair for someone's feelings in Wyoming to be equal to those of millions of people in California. I also think that, if the United States is at all a government of the people, by the people, for the people, then the NRA should not have more say in government than the majority of the population. In the most recent Gallup poll on the subject, the number of people supporting new gun control measures outnumbered their counterparts 60 percent to 38 percent. It is strange to me that such an overwhelming majority can be so easily discarded in the face of enough money.
Capitalize Congress
ReplyDeleteExcellent job Abel!