Political Beliefs and Behaviors

1. Political Beliefs and Behaviors Chapters 4,7 & 8

2. What is culture? • Where do we learn our culture?

3. Generalization: A statement, based on facts, that is true most of the time.

4. Chapter 4 American Political Culture

5. American Political Culture • Political Culture: A patterned and sustained way of thinking about how political and economic life out to be carried out

6. Five key elements of American political culture • Liberty: free to do pretty much as we please • Equality: Equal vote and equal chance to participate and succeed • Democracy: Government officials should be accountable to the people • Civic Duty: Take community affairs seriously and help out where they can • Individual Responsibility: Individuals are responsible for their actions and well being.

7. Do you disagree with any of those five? • Do we always follow them? Give some examples. • Sometimes there is a difference between what we believe and how we act.

8. “Americanism” or “American Way of Life” • On a piece of paper jot down some examples of the “American way of life”. • Now jot down some things that are “Un American”

9. Other countries don’t use these types of phrases. • We use “Un American” too but the French don’t use the term “Un French” • This is part of American Political Culture.

10. The Economic System • American’s judge the economic system using many of the same standards. • Liberty: Free enterprise and competition. • However, people support government regulation to prevent business from becoming too powerful and to correct abuses. • American’s are more willing to tolerate economic inequality than political inequality. • Believe in “equality of opportunity” not “equality of results” • Americans are willing to help those who are truly in need (elderly, handicapped) but not those deemed “able to care for themselves”

11. Comparing US to other Nations • Table 4.2 on page 83 • Figure 4.1 on page 85

12. I’m very proud of my country

13. Success is determined by forces outside our control

14. Children should be taught the value of hard work

15. It is necessary to believe in God to be moral

17. Religion • Because the Constitution forbids an official church or religious tests, and because migration to the country brought many different religious background, religious diversity is inevitable

18. America has always been one of the most religious countries in the world. • The average American is more likely than the average European to • Believe in God • Pray on a daily basis • Acknowledge a clear standard of right and wrong

19. In most democracies religion is rarely mentioned when running for national office. • In American politics religion is often mentioned.

20. "Do you think it is appropriate for political candidates to talk about their religious beliefs as part of their political campaigns, or do you think this is not appropriate?" Appropriate Not Appropriate % % ALL reg. voters 50 48 Republicans 65 32 Democrats 41 57 Independents 48 51 CBS News Poll. June 26-28, 2007. N=750 registered voters nationwide.

23. Class Consciousness: thinking oneself as a worker whose interest are in the opposition of those in management, or vice versa • In the United States most people think of themselves as “middle class” • We don’t have a lot of class conflict in the USA

24. Culture War • Instead of two economic classes engaged in a bitter struggle over wealth, We have two cultural classes that battle over we other political issues. • Money is not at stake and compromise is almost impossible. The conflict is more profound. • Abortion • Same sex marriage • Drug use • School prayer • Pornography • Death penalty

25. Morality is more important than self expression Moral rules derive from the commands of God and are clear and unchanging. Personal freedom is more important than certain traditional moral rules and those rules must be evaluated in light of circumstances of modern life. OrthodoxProgressive

26. Many people who hold these views are not deeply religious or part of the “religious right”. They simply have strong views about drugs, sexual morality, etc. Many who hold these views are not “anti religion” Sometimes there are people within the same religious community with different views. OrthodoxProgressive

27. Why the cultural war today? • There has been a great shift in the number of people who consider themselves progressive. Once almost everyone was orthodox, today there are fewer. • The rise of the media has made it easier to wage a cultural war on a large scale. A small number of people can reach a vast audience. i.e. “War on Christmas”

28. Mistrust of Government • Since the late 1950’s there has been a steady decline in the number of Americans who say they trust Washington to do the right thing. • Vietnam • Watergate • Clinton Impeachment • War in Iraq

29. Mistrust of Government • However, people may not trust political officials, they are still much more supportive of our political institution and country than most Europeans.

31. USA Today/Gallup Poll. Jan. 10-13, 2008. N=2,010 adults nationwide. MoE ± 2.

33. Even though Americans seem to have lost faith in how the country is run, 95% say there are not “countries better than the United States”

34. Political Tolerance • In order for democracy to last… • People must be reasonably tolerant of the opinions of others. (don’t shout down others) • Public won’t support censorship of newspapers • Mobs can’t break up peaceful demonstrations • We have peaceful transitions of power.

35. Americans seem to be becoming more tolerant. • People are more likely today to say they will vote for a qualified person for office even if the candidate was a Catholic, a Jew, a woman, African American or a homosexual.

36. Even though Americans may be willing to deny some groups their rights we can’t agree on which group. When we do agree that group is in trouble • Communists in 1919-1920, 1950’s • Japanese Americans in WWII • Courts also have protected the rights of the minority by enforcing Constitutional protections. • In recent history there has not been a group universally reviled to put that groups rights in jeopardy.

37. Chapter 7 Public Opinion

38. Should the government always do what the people want? • When we elect someone should they consult their constituents before they vote or do we trust them to use their own judgment?

39. The Constitution was not set up to always give the people what they want, but to achieve the goals set forth in the preamble to the Constitution

40. Preamble to the Constitution • Form a more perfect union • Establish justice • Ensure domestic tranquility • Provide for the common defense • Promote the general welfare • Secure blessings of liberty

41. Goals of the preamble can be achieved through popular rule (electing HR and Senate and Presidential electors) but also need • Representative government • Federalism • Independent judiciary • Separation of powers • Bill of Rights • All are checks on public opinion

42. Other checks on public opinion • Electoral College • How Supreme Court Justices are chosen • Terms of Supreme Court • The original method of choosing Senators (changed to popular vote in 1913 with 17th amendment)

43. It is difficult to know what the people want. • Sometimes there is a “Silent Majority”

44. How Polling Works

45. CBS News/New York Times Poll. Sept. 21-24, 2008. N=844 registered voters nationwide. MoE ± 4 • "In deciding who you would like to see elected president this year, which one of the following issues will be most important to you: • Pollingreport.com

46. Keys to a good poll • 1. asking questions about things the people have some basis for forming an opinion • 2. Wording questions fairly • No loaded questions • Example “Support abortion vs Support the right to have an abortion” • Comprehensible questions: People have some basis for forming opinions on the topic.

47. Keys to a good poll • 3. Random sample • Meaning that any given voter has an equal chance of being interviewed. • Representative Sample A fair representation of the district or country being polled • Sample Size Sampling error: % difference two exact same polls conducted in the same manner.

48. Origins of Political Attitude • Family • About half of our political views come from our family . The other half comes from our life experiences, friends, school, and what happens to us as adults • When it comes to choosing a political party, the majority of young Americans identify with their parent’s political party. • This decreases over time, but still 60% of adults share the same political party as their parents.

49. Religion • Religious differences can make for political differences • Religion influences public opinion on social issues like abortion and gay rights, but matter much less on most issues. • Jews are more consistently supportive of the Democratic party. • Jews are liberal on both economic and social issues. • Exit Polls

50. Gender Gap • The difference in political views between men and women • Women are more likely to support a Democratic candidate. • Democratic advantage among women, especially women ages 18-29 has increased in recent years. • Men identify with the Republican Party more and women with the Democratic • For whatever reason men and women don’t share identical political ideas • Table 7.3 page 161