Salut!!
You can find the links of the articles below! :)
“Politics is a fact. Politics is activity in relation to power. Politics is a domain of its own -- the domain of power. Thus it is not morality, it is not aesthetics, nor is it economics. Politics is a way of thinking, just as these others are. “---Francis Parker Yockey
Power is a measurement of the capacity of an entity to exercise power and control over an environment and the behavior of other entities as well.
In the first article, it is evident how power was exercised through the signing of the extension of EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) law and the two other bills which allows the employment of night workers and the mandatory basic immunization for infants and children.
The decision made by the president, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, clearly affected the nation with regards to health, work and way of life. These decisions actually have a big impact on the society. Just imagine what will happen to the night workers if the bill regarding the employment of night workers was not approved. It is known that not all people have the means to study.
Many students attend school at daytime then have evening or most commonly referred to as “graveyard shifts” after. Given these circumstances, the president can actually control the people on how they earn and work. Education can also be sacrificed if this was not approved.
People work mainly for their basic needs such as food, clothing, water and shelter. All of us know that education will have a great impact on how and what our future will be. But despite knowing all of this, more and more people each day decides to give up their education in order to work to earn money to survive.
We might not see the relation of these things at first but the way we live our lives are very much affected by the decisions of the people who have authority over us.
The intentions of the people with power over us are not really explained thoroughly. We will never know why they have decided to take us as their ”responsibility”. In my opinion, some do it for their personal interest especially when the matters involve money because as we all know, it is still considered legal if they coat the total cost of a certain project with an additional of up to 10%. On the other hand, like what most of them claim, it is because they want to serve all of us here and because of their love for our country and its people.
Despite all these vague reasons of their decisions coming up, it is still considered as legitimate not only because we trust them not to abuse us in a way that it will be harder for us to live but also because we know within ourselves the drastic change these decisions may contribute to a better society for us.
It is said that the basic immunization for infants and children is now mandatory. Yes, not all people have the capacity to have their children vaccinated but I can say that this signed bill is not for the people in authority because we all know that they really have the means to have these vaccine shots for their children. This bill is for the well-being of the people.
As simple as the signing of this bill, this may help build a better nation for all of us. One of the reasons is that we will be a part of a physically healthier society. Second, this will indirectly create stronger bonds between the people with authority which caters to a psychologically healthier society. Lastly, it will be a big impact on the way we view life. We will have a more optimistic view on life.
My second article tackles President Obama’s declare of their continuous support for the Afghan war.
This article is quite controversial because this is their country’s longest war. Day by day, more and more people disapprove of the war but this has subsided a bit after bin Laden’s death.
It might be a bit hard for President Obama to find more and more ways to convince people under him to support or at least not oppose the support for this war. Not only does President Obama want to convince the people, he also wants their efforts to not be put into waste which can be the case if they stop their support for the war.
Not all people see this as a legitimate decision mainly because they feel that they have nothing to do with this war and that they are being fined or that their money is somewhat used for things that they do not consider as important.
I think this is a perfect example on how power is exercised greatly. When you analyze it, many people are starting to oppose this but as the head, he has the power to do what he thinks is right not only for him but also for his people. Though not all of them may understand his reasoning, he tries his best to serve well and to put into good use the power he has and make his decisions as clear as possible for the people to understand.
Trust is very much important in our society today especially when we tackle about politicians, authority and legitimacy. Not all the decisions of the politicians are considered as legitimate by the people maybe because they do not state their objectives clearly enough for the people to understand or sometimes because people do not see their effort to make decisions according to the collective well-being of the society.
“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it.” – William Pitt the Elder
Misusing government power for personal purposes such as bribery, police brutality, extortion and even corruption are just some of the few acts which are considered as illegal acts and should be properly and justly dealt with.
Generally, Politics is a way of reconciling differences. It is a basic form of communicating for the betterment of the society. It is a way of making collective decisions in relation to the state. It consists of social ties that involve authority, power, legitimacy, and many more.
References:
http://library.flawlesslogic.com/yockey_3.htm
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=698329&publicationSubCategoryId=63
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/obamas-task-maintaining-support-for-afghan-war/2011/06/21/AGPTw6eH_story.html
That’s it for now!
Merci beaucoup, Au revoir,
Carl
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