Essay on "Jefferson a Talk With Thomas"

Essay 5 pages (1267 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

TJ: What do you mean when you say that the federal government is "supposed to be" the only government that can control the nation's borders, and immigration? The federal government is supposed to be in charge of these areas because it is less reactionary, and less prone to the fear of immigration that can exist in certain pockets in the population (although those Alien & Sedition Acts were pretty bad….)

ME: Well, immigration has become a big issue again, and in fact some states have started to make their own laws about how border patrol should take place, how immigrants should be documented, and how enforcement of immigration laws should be carried out. The Supreme Court and sometimes other District Courts are involved in settling these and other federal/state disputes by interpreting the Constitution, other federal laws, and state laws to determine if there are any conflicts or discrepancies. Ultimately, if the Supreme Court decides that a state law is in violation of federal law or the Constitution, the state law will be struck down; if it is determined that a federal law limits state's rights in violation of the Constitution, the federal law will be struck down.

TJ: Well at least that's still working! Political parties, a lack of voting, and from what you implied earlier there is a growing influence of money on national politics and the governmental structure and a lack of education influencing the voting public in a negative way -- it seems like most of the government we envisioned has been subsumed by modern power structures!

ME: Yeah…that pretty much sums it up. I think the government would be a lot better and a lot more efficient if term limits for election to Congress were imposed, and if there was much stricter regulation of lobbyists, and also

TJ: "Lobbyists"? What are those?

ME: Oh, yeah, you didn't have those. Lobbyists are people who provide information to government officials and attempt to sway their decisions and actions in a certain direction. Some people think they're necessary because there's just too much information for the government and its officials to keep up with, given the size and complexity of the country, but I think if they were more controlled they wouldn't be able to exercise power in the way they currently do, which essentially makes money more powerful than voters. Campaign finance reform would be another way to address this issue

TJ: Campign…finance?

ME: Sure! I don't really have time to explain how mass media has changed the world since you were around, but it costs a lot of money to run for office these days just so people know you're out there (and to compete with anyone else who's spending a lot of money). This means that career politicians depend on campaign contributions to keep their jobs, and since rich people and corporations have more money to give some say they have an unfair say in the way the government is run.

TJ: What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

ME: The government still exists in the same form as you set down on paper. That form just operates differently now, due to technological changes and to the slow erosion of understanding in the voting public….do you need me to crank that for you?

TJ: Please. Let's hope the next time I step out of the temporal advancement device things will have changed for the better! READ MORE

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