US Government Essays (1063 words) - Government, Forms Of Government

US Government The United States of America, the land of the free, the land of opportunity, the wealthiest country in the world, a country that half the modern world is modeled after. Our President in referred to as the "Leader of the free world". Thousands of people come to this country every year learning about our country in hopes of becoming a citizen. We have what some say the greatest form of government know to this world, a representative democracy, formed by "We the People..." The government of the Unites States of America is the most efficient, most inefficient, safest, most beneficial way to govern a country, according to its citizens. "Love it or leave it!" (Flieder 1) This was a statement made referring to the American people and the U.S. Government. People have many split ideas on the government. The people who know the government, the ones who read the papers, listen to the politicians, and know the history of our government, and know how the system works believe in the government, and the system. They know why things are the way they are. Thirteen out of the twenty-one people I interviewed believed that our government system works, yet there is still problems with a few people. The system is hampered by the few individuals who are corrupt, and don't communicate and listen to the people."...we've proven that really no other government surpasses us, our reputation is that of the greatest country ever, but we are still young." (Piccari 1) Also we are a very young country compared to the rest of the world. "Our government is run as it is suppose to be run" (Casagrand, Robert) the way the constitution sets it to be run. The constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written. Very few changes have been made to our constitution since it was written by the founding fathers. Many countries have based their government system off our constitution. On the contrary the people who did not believe in our system, did not know there two U.S. Senators. A few of them did not know the three branches of the United States government. They don't know the system, or how it works. How can you complain about something you know very little about. One of the interviewees, when asked if they have experienced anything in there life that changed their opinion on the government said that the french fries were good when he had lunch with President Reagan. It is easily assumed that this person's view of people and the government are altered by the quality of the President's french fries. (Wagner 1) Where is the logic in that? In the quote made by Mr. Saul Flieder above, it is suggested that if you don't like the system then leave it. If you leave the system is there another system that you could find that would be better? According to Tom Richards it "depends on your needs". Not one person I interviewed did know of a government system that was better then that of the U.S. Government. Do you have a say in the Government? "Yes if your except responsibility for your say, Vote." (Piccari 1) Most people did believe that you do have a say in the government. Their say or voice in the government is in your vote. The few people who said that they did not have a say in the government are predominantly the same people who said that they do not vote, yet they are the people who complain the most. Many Americans complain about problems with our government. As you can see by this chart in 1966 there were 117 million Americans that were of age to vote, only 48.6% of those citizens were registered and voted. Less than half the citizens of this country did not use their right to vote. In 1994 there were 193 million Americans that were of age to vote, but this time only 38.7% of those citizens were registered and voted. The percentage of voters dropped 9.9% in 31 years. People don't vote for many reasons. One reason is people don't have a personal interest or any excitement about the candidates. (Magnuson 1) Which is a very bad reason not to vote. Everyone has a vested interest in the candidates because the candidates represent you to the state or national government. Even if voters vote, many of the voters make bad decisions. "We are really seeing a loss of respect for our federal system of selecting our elected officials. This disenchantment