FDR vs. Reagan

          What makes a leader the best? What qualifications do they have to make? Typically they are strong, powerful people who are successful and look to the needs of the people. So who are the best leaders our country has had from both parties? In my opinion the best Republican president has been Ronald Reagan, and the best Democratic president was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Here are some of their accomplishments:

Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan took office January 20,1981, on a high, strong note. He made immediate and beneficial changes as soon as he took office. One major thing he believed in was not to tax the rich more, but instead tax a similar percentage to everyone. A phrase Reagan frequently emphasized was “Morning in America”. This symbolized a new morning/beginning and a second chance. It challenged America to not live in the past, and to focus on the things to come and how they can make a change. Not only did he accomplish all of these things, but he was also a very likable guy, which helped him in working with the Democratic Congress. He was able to work well with the Democratic Congress, which not only was setting a great example, but it helped him immensely, and got people on his side. He began what became many years of economic growth. Lastly, one of his greatest accomplishment was that he had defeated and finished off their huge enemy, the communists.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FDR was pretty much set up for failure as he was elected during the time of the Great Depression, but he found a way to succeed. He made it a priority to help Americans start new and get back going into a successful future. So many people depended FDR and looked to him for help and guidance. Roosevelt brought to the table a new idea, the New Deal Program. Unfortunately people weren’t too thrilled, but it showed his passion to help the people of America get back on their feet. The tragedy of the attack on Pearl Harbor took place while he was in office, while this wasn’t ideal and was a huge trial, FDR did his best to install hope into the people, and handled it quite well.

If these two remarkable presidents went head to head in an election, I think Reagan would pull it out. He was a very personable president, who sought the needs of the people, that gave a positive look on life and the future. Reagan did have more success during his presidential terms, but Roosevelt did well in the circumstances he faced. Both presidents did great, but Reagan is one of a kind, who got the job done.

 

Top 5 Amendments to Add

Here are the top five Constitutional Amendments I would pass:

Pro-Life
This is no question. It should be made illegal to have abortions, because it is straight up killing a child. There is something called Fetal Homicide, which is, if there was a fetus killed by violent acts of a pregnant woman, their would be an assertion of fetal homicide laws justly criminalizing them. This is interesting because, according to the 2016 AUL’s rankings, Washington is the least pro-life state of the US, yet they are one of the 38 states that will charge the person with two murders if they kill a pregnant woman. There are many other cross-over states as well. So if one type of murder is counted as murder, then the other type of killing a child should be counted as murder as well, just to keep it consistent.

2. Voters Identification Check
Before the election, my youth group leader said to me, you should just go vote, they barely check if you’re qualified to vote. Obviously, he was joking, but this is concerning, because the voters, are voting of who should make the important decisions of our country. That’s just kind of important. There should be a more thorough check on who’s voting. This may be more time consuming, but it is very much so worth it. This will eliminate more of the voter fraud that we may have, if we have a stricter checking system.

3. Service
This would be a harder one to enforce, but there is a way. By the time you are 18, you should have 15 hours of service completed. If you look at things in perspective, that isn’t very much. America is an all about me country, so it would be nice get a different perspective, from what we typically have, and to go out and give your time to serve in any way. To enforce this, every time there has been an act of service, the organization would send an official documentation of your service, and it would be added to your record.

4. Number of Terms
For this Amendment, I think there shouldn’t be a limit of the number of terms the president runs for. If the president is doing a good job in office, and their 2, 4 year terms are up, and we elect a terrible president, what benefit does that do? That’s like if a coach were to bench you after making 5 3’s in a row in a basketball game. You don’t do that if you want to be successful. There should still be a 4 year term, but the current president should be able to keep running if he’s doing a good job.

5. Eliminate the 3/5 of a vote http://americanvision.org/3918/the-original-constitution-and-the-three-fifths-myth/
Racial equality is a huge issue in our country, and having the three-fifths of a vote takes away from the freedom we have, it minimizes people and discriminates. How can we be unified if we take away from people’s equality?

There are 2 ways an Amendment can be made:
1. When the Amendment started out as a bill. The bill has to pass both houses of legislatures by 2/3 majority, then it goes to the states. It the. Has to be approved by 3/4 of the states.
2. Constitutional Amendments are proposed when 2/3 of both houses of Congress or 23 of the states call a convention. The Amendment is then ratified when 3/4 of both houses of Congress agree or if three quarters of the states agree on it. Finally, the Amendments which have been ratified are, now, apart of the Constitution.

It is uncommon to add an Amendment to the Constitution.

45th President of the United States

The craziest election, arguably, in the history of elections has resulted in an insanely huge upset. I’m not thrilled with either of the candidates, but I can definitely say I would rather have Trump over Hillary. So, overall my feelings towards the outcome are steady, but not thrilled. I, personally, could never support someone, as a leader, with the same morals as Hillary or the fact that she has had the FBI on her case.

In the end, we need to remember that even if we dislike the outcome, we still need to respect Trump. Even if he’s not the most ideal person, in the way that he’s been terrible to women and that he’s been racist, and all the other things he’s done in the past, he is still our authority. Romans 13, the go to verse with political things, God is ultimately in control. “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” Romans 13:1-2, 4. As Christians, we must keep this in mind. Just like Obama said also, “No matter what happens, the sun will rise tomorrow.”

Obama or Bush?

Bush or Obama? These two controversial men can bring up many disputes about who was a better president. Both of these men have done great things, yet have also had many struggles in office….but who was better? I’m obviously coming from a biased view point, but the person I believe was much better was president Bush. He obviously didn’t do everything perfectly, or even close to perfect, but who he was as a person in general, really stuck out to me and is the reason why I think he was a better president than Obama.

A crucial role of the president, is being a good and reliable leader. Not only was he these things, but he also showed that he genuinely cared for the country and would go the extra mile to help the people. A great example of this is Bush’s response to the terrorist attack of 9/11. During the attack, he was in an elementary school in Florida, apart of a reading lesson. When he got word of the attack, he remained totally calm in front of the children, because he didn’t want to terrify them and let their brains run wild in imagination. When it was the appropriate time, he took immediate action, and handled things in a proper and well-run way. A little bit after the attack, when it was safe, he showed genuine care for the situation that had just taken place.
For those who lost their loved ones, he went to Ground Zero site to pray and cry with the friends and families of the 3,000 who had died. He also made a 3 step process in response. 1) Keep terrorists from striking again 2) Make it clear to the country and the World that the US had embarked on a new kind of war 3) Help the affected areas recover and make sure the terrorists didn’t succeed in shutting down the economy or dividing society. After the 9/11 attack, Bush’s approval ratings skyrocketed up 90%. Obama, on the other hand, when there is a tragedy, he rarely makes an appearance. For example: After the death of a journalist, James Foley who was beheaded by ISIS, Obama didn’t make a public appearance to help comfort the country. This, in my eyes, is a lack of effort of a leader by Obama.
Another hot topic we come across were foreign affairs. A big problem in my eyes is that, Obama wreaked our military by cutting expenses. Another mistake is that he made a huge threat of war against Iran when he had no evidence of nuclear weapons. Another issue he has had has been with Isis, and with this, our relationships with other countries have become weaker.

In conclusion, I think Bush did a better job in office, and I really like Bush for his leadership and public faith, like how he recited Psalm 23 in a speech and that he made September 14th the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance.

What Makes a Bad Government

                      There are so many different aspects that go into the development of a government, and over the years there have been many ideas shot down, or ideas that have become a reality. Through these ideas, there are many “do’s and don’t’s” which have been figured out over the course of the years. As we all know, every government has flaws, even the “best” government on earth. And before doing research, I was pretty naive to how important it is to have a well run government and how hard it is to run one well. There are so many attributes that go into a well run government, so here is a top 10 list of “don’t’s” in running of government successfully.

10. A government without checks and balances.
A government without checks and balances gives opportunity for one, single person to control everything!  Checks and Balances give limitations and restrictions, so that not one branch of government can become too powerful. An example of a country without checks and balances is North Korea.

9. An un-unified government
Think of any form of leadership today. For example, in softball, there is a third basemen coach and a first basemen coach and if they weren’t unified as a staff, then you wouldn’t be a successful team. They would both be sending different messages to their players, which would result in the team getting no where. This is the same in a government. If there isn’t unity amongst the leaders, the country would be very unsuccessful as a whole.

8. A selfish, self-centered leader
This type of leader would only be looking out for him/herself. This would benefit no one but themselves, and in any type of monarchy, there would be no way to get them out of office. So this is a super important piece of government. If your leader is selfish, they aren’t going to look at the whole picture for the country/nation’s benefit. This is also where the abuse of power can factor in.

7. A lack of enforcement
To gain authority of people, there needs to be an enforcement of the laws and regulations that have been set. If there was a cop that allowed every car he saw go 30 miles an hour over the speed limit, then the people would think they can get away with more, which would lead to complete chaos.

6. An untrustworthy leader
An untrustworthy leader can be extremely detrimental to a country. Someone who comes to my mind is Hillary Clinton with the email issue.  If a leader can’t be trusted, How is it possible that they are qualified for leading a whole entire country?

5. A government who has given all the power and control to one person
This could potentially be super detrimental to a nation. This opens the door to power abuse. It’s so easy for pride to take over in someone’s life, especially someone in a position of great power. So this could definitely lead to terrible things. This is why it’s important to have the leader have something/someone to own up to.
-Ex: North Korea
•the people are completely controlled by Kim Jong Un https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

4. A government that doesn’t keep the rights of the people a priority
The rights of the people is one of the most important aspects of any government ran. And if rights are taken away, there would be a lack of equality, and no one would know what they are allowed to do.

3. A government that isn’t focused around what is best for the people and the country.
A government that excludes the people, will lead to the majority of the people unhappy and potentially rebellious and disrespectful, refusing to submit.

2. A government without a solid military
Without a solid Military, there wouldn’t be a sense of security amongst the people. It’s so important to have a well rounded military, to protect the people of the country.

1. A government with no established constitution.
I believe this to be one of the most important factors of a government. Without an established constitution, we would all be in the hands of one person. Our safety, security and our lives. This is crucial because there is so much evil in this world, and to have an evil leader could be a terribly, awful problem to have. And as a whole for the people, without the constitution, there would be no laws, which would result in utter chaos.

These are the main highlights of what I believe make a government bad.

Absolute Monarchy

The government style I picked is an absolute monarchy. An absolute monarchy is where the authority has complete power of everyone else. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_monarchy When people here about a monarchy, they commonly think of kings and queens, which have been around forever, since biblical times. The bible, in many ways, mirrors this style of government. In comparing an absolute monarchy to the bible, you could go a couple different ways with it. For example, you could look at it as God is the absolute monarch. This would make sense because God is the ultimate authority, and we all own up to Him. Another way you could look at it is if the kings of Israel were the absolute monarchs. This would also make sense, because they ruled the land at that point, yet they still had someone over them to own up to, which is God.
A mild difference between the bible and the typical election of the next monarch, is that God would elect the next. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+16&version=ESV God would not pick the “expected leaders”. Instead, he picked people like David, small and without much experience. Today, when electing monarchs, they are typically hereditary, and have been preparing all their life for the position.
Whether a monarch from today, or from the bible, we are told to respect and submit to the king https://theorthodoxlife.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/biblical-monarchy-and-the-book-of-judges/ This type of leadership is everywhere today. For example, a coach of a team could be considered a monarch. The coach doesn’t have to submit to anyone with the way they choose to coach, and as players, you are expected to submit and obey their authority. In any leadership position there are going to beeps and downs. We are human. In a monarchy, if you have a good leader who does things to better the community, it is going to be a well run government style.
A monarchy is a good and biblical type of government because it was used in the past, and it’s efficient, in a sense that the monarch makes the final decision and has absolute power. Even though this style of government isn’t super popular today, it has a ton of advantages to it. It also is comparable to our beliefs. You can look at God as a monarch. He has absolute power, and we are to submit and honor him. The Lord commands us to submit to any governing authority, in Romans 13, so whatever government style you’re under, keep this passage in mind.

My Ideal Governement

In my ideal community, the government style would be a republic. A republic is a form of government in which the people elect an authority, or representative to establish laws and have control over the people. https://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnotes/repvsdem.htm This is a great form of government because everyone gets a say in choosing who would be the best fit for our country. Although, not everyone will agree with the leader elected, everyone was given the opportunity to vote and give an opinion of who they think should be in control.
This form of government gives us the freedom and rights to make decisions that will potentially affect us. I, personally, would rather be able to vote for something, so that my opinion is being heard, rather than having someone else or a group of people deciding something for me. This is true for many others. People want to be able to express what they value and expect in a leader, and in a republic, they are able to do that. We all have different views on how we think a government should be run, and we are able to vote for whoever is portraying the same important political beliefs we have. https://www.britannica.com/topic/republic-government describes a republic as a style of government that the “sovereignty rest with the people”. This is very true, since the people don’t run the government, they are put in charge of voting for the best fit to run the government.
Another reason why a republic is one of the best forms of government is because it protects the interest of people. A leader is elected to look at a situation and deal with it in the way that will benefit the people. If the leader does not deal with it in a way that benefits the people, they should be able to elect them out of office, and find a leader that has a selfless way of ruling, and will try adhere to the needs of the nation.
These are a few reasons why I think a republic is a great style of government. It puts the power in the hands of the people, which has its pros and cons to both sides, but it gives everyone an equal chance to vote for who they want. Obviously this system isn’t flawless. There are downsides to the way a republic can be run. For example, differences in opinions can create discord between Americans, but people will never see completely eye to eye, even if they share some of the same beliefs. There’s always something people will disagree with. Nothing will ever be ran perfectly until we get to heaven under God’s control, so we have something to look forward to.

Picture: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-a-republican-form-of-government.htm

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