Activists Pathways to Action in North Carolina

         The judgment of a type of person born into the sexual orientation that they have been is not a value that should be rooted in society today. The view of seeing marriage as a picture-perfect union for an ideal lively hood of all Americans is irrational. Nothing, including moral disapproval and religion validate denying citizens of basic rights and freedoms. Same-sex marriage must be legalized in order to attain equality and promote unity in America while stimulating the economy. Being unfair to any group of Americans endangers the justice of all Americans; if a certain group can be so effortlessly condemned to the loss of a simple right nothing prevents it from happening to another group of Americans fighting for a different cause.

         However, on May 8^th, 2012, Amendment One in North Carolina was passed. This Amendment to the Constitution of North Carolina prohibits gay marriage, it makes “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state” the law. When voting took place, the voter turn-out was much greater than expected and ended up resulting in Amendment One passing by about 20%. After the victory, conservative North Carolinians celebrated by eating delicious multi-tiered wedding cakes with figurines of a male and female bride and groom to further celebrate their “pro-marriage” point of view. This Amendment however takes away from other men and women who are not homosexual. Benefits that are given to married families will not be given to families who are in domestic partnerships or even families with a single parent. This endangers the welfare of many men, women, and children in the state of North Carolina.

         In the beginning of the debate on Amendment One, the civil-rights groups in North Carolina began using pathways of action to help promote their cause. Using the “Grassroots Mobilization” Pathway, the citizens rallied up and promoted gay marriage and civil rights for all types of partnerships. Using the “Cultural Change” Pathway, activists called households to better inform them of the effects of Amendment One. The other ways the activists helped the cause was by sending over 5,000 post cards to legislators to raise awareness of the danger of Amendment One. Concerts were held to raise awareness the night before voting all around North Carolina and especially near Chapel Hill and other college cities to help raise awareness within the younger community. Finally, using twitter, The Coalition to Protect NC Families had created a twitter to keep voters up to date on the Amendment and also to be an input for donations.

         After reading about all of the activities that had taken place to help stop Amendment One from passing, I noticed that they were all the pathways of actions we have learned about. The topic we learned about in class was connected to an issue happening in the United States, and my Government class education helped me fully see all of the great ways people can work together to try and make a difference in the country.

Presidential Power: Is it saving lives?

    Arriving home each day from school to TV shows like Rachel Maddow Show and The Colbert Report had never really interested me before taking 11th grade government. I now find myself sitting down with my family and taking the time to watch these shows and I have finally realized that I truly understand what these popular Television faces are discussing. One of the main topics that I have been seeing discussed on national television is obviously the 2012 Election. And although I am just short of being old enough to vote in it, I feel as if I may be more qualified than many adults to take part in this election all thanks to my Government class. Opinions on taxes, war, healthcare, and marriage rights are all very crucial during this election but the topics of healthcare and gay rights stand out to me most.

    I will not be able to participate in the upcoming election by voting, but I do believe that I can still make an impact by voicing my opinions. I am very passionate about the issue on Same-Sex marriage and take every opportunity I get to express my beliefs. By taking this course I have learned so much about how the election process works, I was able to understand the Primary and Caucus systems which have now lead into the process of gaining delegates. Using interactive websites during class helped me learn the material in an interesting way.

    Presidential power was a topic we discussed that really impacted me. Presidents should be able to make changes and not be limited by documents written over 200 years ago. Franklin Delano Roosevelt first began thinking this way. His modern way of thinking was to benefit America in the times of change and while technology was growing. Now moving into the 21st century, times have changed since the Constitution was written. America is not the same today and in order to make changes, the President needs to be able to stray from the norms in the 1800s and make decisions that benefit America today in the 2000s. While the Constitution is a very important document and should always remain the center of thinking for our government, a new point of view on it and a little more elbow room in the interpretation should be able to take place in order to help America grow.

    For Barack Obama, this elbow room in power took place in his healthcare system. While it wasn’t the most popular and still is not today, he did not overstep his constitutional rights but still took control in shaping America how he saw most fit. Today, his policy is helping American’s tremendously. Sahil Kapur from TPM points out that Obamacare has saved senior citizens 3.4 billion dollars in their prescription drug costs. During this time of technological advances where medical advances are being made at high costs, the President was able to use his power to help citizens obtain these live saving and prolonging goods.

       Obama’s healthcare will give back $1.3 billion to American’s and companies giving back to the economy says The LA Times. Obama’s healthcare system helps relieve the cost of hospital and medical fees by spreading the cost of insurance more equally between all Americans. Elise Viebeck of The Hill Online explains how because of his new laws over 200 local clinics have been updated with more modern equipment and up to 1.3 million American’s will be able to use local healthcare to its fullest.