GOVT 2305 PSLO. Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government.(Communication & Teamwork)
Government Program Project (Representation)
Imagine being so interested in American politics that you decide to do some independent research into the relationship between power and representation in these politically polarized times. As you are learning, knowing who exercises political power helps you understand how power is used and the interests that are represented. Where do you start looking for information?
Since the three branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial) make national policies, you decide to begin with the US Congress because it is the one institution of government where the people’s interests—theoretically—are represented. You choose to look into the makeup of Congress as the first step to understanding who is in power to see if they are representative of the people. To get you going, here is some data you can review to learn about the makeup of Congress. Take your time reviewing the link below:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/03/10/the-changing-face-of-congress/.
What you find may surprise you, such as the number of young people who are now serving or the increased %’s in racial, ethnic, gender, and religious diversity of the Congress.
Here are some highlights from the Pew Research Center’s analysis of the 117th Congress, whose members were elected in 2020 (along with Joe Biden as president).
• People of Color (POC) make up 23% of the Congress today(2021), whereas in 1945, they constituted only 1% of Congress. Still, whites make up 77% of Congress, whereas (non-hispanic) white people are 60% of the general population.• Women make up 27% of Congress today (2021), whereas in 1920, when women won the right to vote everywhere in America, there were no women in Congress. Still, women are 51% of the general population.• There are 31 Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) in the US House (and 1 in the US Senate) today (2021), up from 5 in the US House just 4 years ago.• Veterans make up 17% of Congress today (2021), whereasthere is only 7% of the general population who have served in the military.• Christians make up 88% of Congress today (2021), whereas in the general population, 65% are Christian. While, about 3% of Congress affiliate with no religion, this compares to about 26% of the general population who affiliate with no religion.
The projected changes in the US population over the next 25 years indicate that even greater population diversification will occur (see the Census tables below).
US Census Bureau 2020 Census QuickFactshttps://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/HSD410219
Instructions
In a concise (250-300 words) post, answer the following questions utilizing the information above, as well as your own thoughts on racial diversity and representation in Congress:
• Do you think the trend toward a more demographically diverse (race, gender, age, religion, etc.) Congress will result in better representation of minority communities? Explain.o Consider this – do you think it is possible for a white person to effectively represent communities of color—or for a POC to effectively represent a majority white community? For instance, President Joe Biden is an older white male—do you think he can effectively represent POC and younger people? o Think about the common views that Republicans and Democrats respectively share – is it possible that common political views are a more powerful influence than what we have in common among those of the same race or age? • As the United States becomes more demographically diverse, do you expect that the trend toward electing more demographically diverse people to Congress will continue? o Consider this – as we become more comfortable with transgender people, do you think we will elect more transgender people to Congress?
1. After you have submitted your post, respond to TWO posts from your peers and offer a thoughtful response to what you have read. Each response should be 100-150 words.
2. Understand that the main intent of these discussions is to hold a dialogue. Kindly begin work on this discussion well in advance of the deadline (by Friday) to insure that your classmates are afforded ample time to respond to your posts (by Sunday).
