The statistics from statista.com, show how the election would turn out if it happened today. Biden would have a 6-point lead over Trump, in average. To understand more as to why this is, these two candidates need to be compared to each other on the different issues that are important to most Americans today.

Biden and Trump focus on different issues, making it difficult to compare these two, but according to Pew Research Center, the most important political issues to Americans today are racial and social justice, education and gun laws.

Racial and social justice is a major issue Americans face today. May 25, 2020, Americans again experienced how corrupt the racial and social justice system is. Biden supports rooting out racism, while Trump wants to rescind guidance aimed at reducing racial disparities in school discipline. Whites and blacks are still treated extremely differently, causing this to be an important issue to have an opinion on for the nominees.

Education is essential for a life with possibilities. Biden wants to put a lot of money into the education system in America, so that it can get as good as possible. Early education is an investment, and smaller classes in early grades are important. In comparison, Trump does not offer preschool programs, and would rather have larger classes. He puts as little money as possible into the education system. Trump also supports private schools with public money, where Biden focuses on ensuring that families have access to support services and modernized school buildings.

Thirty percent of American adults personally own a gun (Saad, 2019). Gun laws are significant to most Americans, where guns affect them one way or another. Biden believes that to reduce gun violence, the federal government should close gun show loopholes and restrict the gun laws. Trump thinks that to reduce gun violence, teachers should be carrying guns, and the more people that carry guns, the safer he thinks the people will be.

Sources:

• EdVotes. (n.d.). Compare Candidates. Retrieved May 27, 2020 from https://educationvotes.nea.org/presidential-2020/compare-candidates/.
• Pew Research Center. (2020). Political Issues Priority. Retrieved May 27, 2020 from https://www.pewresearch.org/topics/political-issue-priorities/.
• Roper, W. (2020, May 19). Presidential Election – Trump vs. Biden. Retrieved May 27, 2020 from https://www.statista.com/chart/21377/trump-versus-biden/.
• Saad, L. (2019, August 14). What Percentage of Americans Own Guns? Retrieved May 27, 2020 from https://news.gallup.com/poll/264932/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx.

The movie “The Suffragette” is about the suffragette movement in Great Britain. Women fight for the right to vote, as well as the right to freedom.

I found this movie really interesting and provocative, since we, today, are used to having the right to vote and the right to decide for our children. I learned that women did not have any rights over her children, and the man decided everything.

Emily Davison was the English suffragette known for throwing herself in front of the King’s horse under the Epsom Derby. She was an officer of the Women’s Social and Political Movement, where she was arrested on nine occasions for fighting for her cause. She also hunger striked seven times, and had to be force fed on forty-nine occasions. Her militant actions became her image, where she broke windows, threw stones, set fire to postboxes and hiding overnight in the Palace of Westminster.

The first US national suffrage organizations were established in 1869, led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and another one led by Lucy Stone. These organizations later on merged, with Anthony as their leading force. Suffragists made many attempts to vote, but were denied, and then decided to file lawsuits. Anthony succeeded in voting once, but was arrested and later on found guilty. She played an important role in the movement, considering she was a major activist, at the age of 17, she had already collected anti-slavery petitions.

Stormzy is a familiar name to a lot of teenagers and young adults today, mostly because of his music. I didn’t know that he was an activist also, but apparently that is a part of what he raps/freestyles about. I think Stormzy calls himself a political analyst because he raps about problems that the UK Government is facing, according to him, and he spreads awareness through his music.

Citations:

• Snapes, L. (2019, October 10). Stormzy makes cover of Time magazine as ‘next generation leader’. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/oct/10/stormzy-makes-cover-of-time-magazine-as-next-generation-leader-great-thunberg-annual-list

Reading The Hate U Give taught me how much skin color matters in the US, and probably other countries, especially when it comes to police brutality and the process to justify what cops do to people based on their ethnicity. I loved how easy it was to pay attention while reading the book, and all in all it was just a really good book. It kept me on my toes at all times, and it did not hide any details, no matter how brutal it could be at times. Truth hurts.

I did not find any of the parts of the book disturbing, I just thought it was good that the author described everything that happened as detailed as she did. I think more people need to realize how bad some people’s situations are, and that they are people, just like everybody else.

I get how the book can be accused of representing black people as victims, but then again, it is kind of the point. Like, I get that not all black people are victims, but the majority of them may feel like one.

Watching the documentary 13th on Netflix, we got an insight on how the 13th amendment in the US Constitution “freed” the slaves but does not keep it from happening today. The 13th amendment does not restrict the police, especially not when “attacking” Afro-Americans for no reason whatsoever. It shows that they really need to know what to do when stopped by police officers, and harm may be done if they do not do what they are supposed to. The documentary shows how basic human rights are taken away by being black, or by not being white.

It talks about how big the percentage of blacks are incarcerated, compared to the percentage of blacks in the American population. We watch interviews with people explaining how their rights are violated by being wrongly convicted. These people are people, just like us, which makes no sense as to why people feel the need to harass based on ethnicity, especially.

I wonder why this is still a problem, and how long it will take before their fight is over. Why do people still think that they are better and more privileged than others because they have a different skin color than them?

In the bookThe Hate U Give, something that stood out was the way the book is written. You notice the accent stands out, which is how you understand that they are from “the ghetto”. It is interesting that when I read the book, I hear the way they talk and that’s how I read it.

Another thing that was interesting, was the detailed explanation of how the shooting of Khalil was. This was heartbreaking to read and very touching. Everybody knew about this after it had happened, and they all knew who knew him and gave their condolences. I found this interesting, because they all knew who each other were, from the only grocery store in that neighborhood.

The election of the prime minister in the United Kingdom just took place. The conservative party took the lead with 43.6% of the votes, and labour came in with 32.2% of the votes. After this election, the votes for remain and leave the EU changed in most of the parties.

In the conservative party, an additional 6.1% vote strongly for leaving the EU, while 2.9% less vote for remaining in the EU. The labour party lost 10.4% of voters for leaving the EU, but also lost 6.4% of the votes for leaving. The votes from the smaller parties also increased in strong leave, but also strong remain.

After this election, Brexit will happen, says Boris Johnson. Especially now that the conservative party has 365 seats in the Parliament, and all of them told Johnson that they will vote for Brexit to happen, which means that it will, since this will be a majority vote. But what will happen to the UK if Brexit happens?

I think what will happen when they are no longer a part of the EU depends on what the UK and the EU agreed on.

Sources:

• Election results 2019: Analysis in maps and charts. (2019, December 13). Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2019-50770798.
• Results of the 2019 General Election. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/election/2019/results.
• Thanem, T. (19AD, December 13). Dette skjer med brexit nå. Retrieved December 16, 2019, from https://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/i/8m1lyE/dette-skjer-med-brexit-naa.

Tulsi Gabbard is a 38-year-old woman running for president in the 2020 election. It is her first time running, but she has been politically active since 2002. She is a congresswoman from Hawaii, and also the first female combat veteran to ever run for president. She runs for the Democratic party, and thinks the government should be run by people, for people. Tulsi wants to end regime change wars, which is toppling foreign governments the US doesn’t like. Also, there is a “new” Cold War going on, with the nuclear race, that she wants to end, and start a cooperation between these countries instead. She is focused on the needs of Americans, with quality healthcare for all, protect social security, care for veterans, protect civil liberties and the democracy. Another focus she has if she becomes president, is a greener country. It is critical for the population to have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink and safe food to eat.

Tulsi wants “to build a movement for peace at home and abroad that will fulfill the promise of America, of freedom, justice, equality, and opportunity for all.”

Sources:

Official Website: Tulsi Gabbard for President. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2019, from https://www.tulsi2020.com/.

The Constitution established the National government and fundamental laws, it also guaranteed basic rights for American citizens. The national government started out as weak, and the states operated like independent countries. In 1787, there was a Constitutional Convention that was requested by Congress to amend the Articles of Confederation. The convention opened in Philadelphia, in what we now call the Independence Hall. All 13 states were represented by 55 well-educated delegates, except for Rhode Island that refused to send representatives because they meant that the government should not be interfering in its economic business.

The delegates were tasked by Congress to amend the Articles of Confederation, but they soon began proposing a new form of government. Delegating a plan for a stronger federal government, they ended up with dividing it into three branches: the executive, judicial and legislative branch. None of the branches were supposed to have more power than the others – the system of checks and balances.

Five members were chosen to the Committee of Style, that drafted the Constitution. This draft was signed on September 17, by George Washington – president of the convention. Out of 55 delegates, a total of 39 signed the document: some had already left, while some refused to approve it. In order for it to become law, nine out of thirteen states had to ratify it, which started a journey to persuade to ratification. “The Federalist” was the collection of the 85 essays written to explain how the new government would work. On June 21^st, 1788, the ninth state ratified the document and the US Constitution government would begin on March 4, 1789. April 30^th, 1789, George Washington became the very first President of the United States of America. In September 1789, 12 amendments were sent for ratification, 10 of these were ratified – the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights are the ten first amendments in the US Constitution and guarantees individuals certain basic protections as citizens. The 1^stAmendment is called “Freedom of Religion, Speech, and the Press”, it protects the right to express ideas through speech and press, assemble and gather to protest or for other reasons, and to religious beliefs and practices. The 2^ndAmendment is called “Right to Bear Arms” because Americans feel like they need the right to keep and bear arms to have a well-regulated militia. The 3^rdAmendment is called “Quartering Soldiers”, where soldiers are not allowed to be quartered in a house without the owner’s consent. The 4^thAmendment “Search and Seizure” is the right to protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The 5^thAmendment is called “Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self Incrimination, Due Process, Takings” and protects people accused of crimes, and serious charges must be started by a grand jury, cannot be tried twice for the same offense or property taken away without just compensation. Self incrimination is protected against, and one cannot be imprisoned without due process of law. “Right to Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses, Counsel” is the 6^thAmendment, and is additional protections for people accused of crimes. A speedy and public trial, and a trial by an impartial jury are also rights to the accused one. The 7^thAmendment extends the right to a jury trial and is called “Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits”. The 8^thAmendment is called “Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment”, and protects from excessive bail, fines, and cruel and unusual punishment. “Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by People” is the 8^thAmendment, and states that the citizens have other rights that are not written. The last amendment of the Bill of Rights is called “Rights Reserved to States or People” and says that the Federal Government only has those powers delegated in the US Constitution. In addition to these 10 amendments, there are 17 others that were added to the Constitution later on.

The 19^thAmendment was passed by Congress in June, 1919, and gave women the right to vote. This is an important amendment, a revolution needed for women in the US, they were now finally a part of deciding how the country should be. Women could finally feel like they were a part of the society, as there was no longer a need to have a property to vote, at least in most states.

To change the Constitution is a long, and almost impossible process.: it has to go through both houses with a two-thirds majority vote, or two-thirds of the State legislatures can ask Congress for a national convention to propose amendments. This is explained in Article V in the US Constitution.

The Supreme Court

In the US, the highest court is called the Supreme Court, and plays a significant role in the constitutional system. It ensures that each branch in the government doesn’t exceed its power. It also protects civil rights and liberties and protects minorities by limiting the democratic government. The Supreme Court impacts everyone in the country, not just lawyers and judges.

The Supreme Court sanctioned segregation during Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, which definitely made an impact on the Constitution. Segregation was still a problem, because the only thing the Supreme Court did here, was saying that people are “separate but equal”. An example of this being challenged was when The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People disagreed with this ruling. They made the Supreme Court declare that separation is not equal. This was the most important example of the Supreme Court’s impact on the Constitution, at least what I think.

Sources:

• History.com Editors. (2009, October 27). Constitution. Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.history.com/topics/united-states-constitution/constitution.
• The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-x.
• The Bill of Rights: What Does it Say? (2016, October 12). Retrieved November 11, 2019, from https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights/what-does-it-say.