Welcome to Paragon's Crash Course Lesson on Politics for the Cool Cry
If you've decided to read this then awesome. I feel super privileged that you've decided to take this lesson.
If you are reading this to see if how big of a nerd I am... Then you've won. I'm a massive nerd. Shhh.
I'm not super qualified to give this lesson. I may not be a history teacher yet but it is what I am planning on majoring in after I get my BA in Teaching of English.
I hope I can shed some light on this two party system and why it exists and try not to present my own bias too much.
If you are looking for a video version of this text thing I made just for you ( :( ), I would suggest starting with this .
Basic Terminology
Republicans - A party focused on conservative mindset. Interested in gradual change than rapid change.
Democrats - A party focused on a more liberal mindset. Interested in more radical change than slower change.
That's the basis of what the two parties are and why that stand for nowadays. It can get more or less complicated depending how far back you are willing to go.
I'll explain some of what each of these parties stand for today through explaining some of the hotly contested issues.
The Republican Party, aka GOP, today is known for its support of Pro-Life, Pro-Gun Ownership, De-Unionizing, Neoliberalism amongst other things.
*Pro-Gun are fairly self-explanatory. Based on the Second Admendment, US Citizens have the right to bear arms. Many Republicans just wish to keep gun laws to a minimum and be able to carry and own their guns were they please.
De-Unionizing is the stance that Unions are stealing money from the workers and are stunting economic progress instead of representing them. They want to get rid of unions to help stimulate work.
Neoliberalism a stance that is quickly changing how schools are being shaped around the country. As David Harvey (2005) describes that neoliberalism "proposes that a human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within and institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets and free trade." IN A NUTSHELL, Neoliberalism is the process of taking a corporate mindset and trying to apply it to schools. This ties into privatizing public education so that it can easily function without the aid of government funding. Also the high stakes tests like the ACT and SAT are born from this process of wanting to standardize education.
The Democratic Party