Minimum Standards for Public Consent

Minimum Standards for Public Consent in Domestic Governance

The government of the United States is designed to give its citizens vast power and decision making abilities while also protecting the rights of those who oppose the ideas of the majority. This is done by having three different branches of government; executive, legislative, and judicial, in which there are checks and balances to control the power of each. The people of the United States theoretically have the ultimate power by electing these government officials. Another way the intent of our government is carried out is by have different political parties that keep each other in line. However, there are times when the U.S. government does not accomplish its goals of empowering the people while protecting the minorities. For example, people are ultimately bound by the power of the court, and people who belong to a certain political party are not going to be completely satisfied when the president belongs to the opposite party. In trying to be fair to all, the United States government has to try to compromise and attempt to do what is best for the country as a whole.

The First Amendment and the Bill of Rights went into effect on December 15, 1791. It was written by James Madison for the purpose of protecting citizens from the power of the federal government and to also protect their basic rights as Americans. The First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the

Government for a redress of grievances (www.firstamendmentcenter.org)." This amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows people to voice their opinions and be heard by the government and other citizens of the United States. It is one way people can give and withhold their consent from the government, and they can not be persecuted for it.

Another way U.S. citizens control the power of the federal and local government is through having a multiple political party system. The Democratic and Republican parties are the two main parties that play a roll in our government, but it is also very influenced by the ideas and support of the smaller parties. Having different parties that have different ideas and beliefs ensures that no one group of people will decide how our country is run while the rest of the country is unsatisfied. For example, even if the president of the United States belonged to the Republican Party, as is the current situation, there are members of the Democratic Party that are in the Senate and House of Representatives. For the most part, this ensures that the laws that are passed and the actions of the country are not all one-sided and try to remain fair to all.

There are many examples of U.S. citizens giving and withholding their consent from the government. If President George Bush and his supporters had their way, gay-marriage would be banned, abortion would be completely illegal, stem-cell research would never happen, etc. These bills have not been passed as of yet because over fifty percent of Congress and the United States people do not agree that these ideas should be laws. The country, so far, has withheld its consent from the federal government. The fact that the citizens of the United States have this power over the federal government is proof that a working democracy exists in this country.

Even though the presence of various political parties having a roll in the United States government is one way the people have the power to give and withhold consent, political parties can also be a way that the rights of the minorities in this country are not protected. An example of this is when a member of a certain party wins the presidential election. The ideas of the president and his followers are normally the beliefs that turn into bills that the executive branch tries to make into laws. The U.S. citizens belonging to the opposite party sometimes do not share the same beliefs, and their ideas are not written as bills as often. However, major discussions and hearings on Capital Hill do lean to compromise.

Another example of when people are powerless when it comes to giving or withholding their consent is occasionally in the Electoral College. In the 2000 presidential election democratic nominee Al Gore won the popular vote with the United States people, but George Bush won the most votes in the Electoral College; therefore he won the presidency. In this case, even though 48.38% of the country wanted Al Gore as the next president and only 47.87% wanted Bush, because of the Electoral College the majority of the United States did not get their way (www.infoplease.com).

The Electoral College is made up of electors from each state. The electors include the two senators and a number of U.S. Representatives depending on the population of the state. The electors vote directly for the president and vice president. Most of the time their vote agrees with the popular vote in their state, but this is not always true. Technically, the electors can vote for whoever they choose and it is completely legal. The

main power that the U.S. people have during the presidential election is that they vote for who the electors will be.

United States citizens and their power to give and withhold consent from our government are ultimately bound by the decisions of the courts. However, people can appeal the decisions of the lower courts all the way up to the Supreme Court. People's rights are often debated through the court and the only way to conclude who is right and who is wrong is from the courts ruling.

A recent example of how people are ultimately bound by the courts decisions is the Terri Schiavo case. Schiavo suffered severe brain damage