P SC 1113 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Last Lecture I. Went over the syllabus thoroughly Outline of Current Lecture I. Introductory QuotesA. Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835B. Brookings Institution, 2005II. Is America on the Right Track or the Wrong Track?III. Are There Structural Concerns?a. Diffuse supportb. Specific supportIV. Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How?V. How Important is Managing the Economy to Us?VI. Are There Concerns with the Way Our Government Resolves Conflicts?VII. Five Fundamental Principles Underlining Our DemocracyCurrent LectureI. Introductory Quotes: we do not need to know these on the exam, Professor Johnson used them as an introduction to this course and said it was unnecessary to write them downA. Alexis de Tocqueville, 1835B. Brookings Institution, 2005II. Is America on the Right Track or the Wrong Track?A. In a poll, approximately 30% of responders said America is on the right track while approximately 61% said it is on the wrong trackB. He asked the class and we were slightly more pessimistic, about 20% of us said it is on the right track while about 80% of us said it is on the wrong trackC. What could be influencing this opinion? Has there been recent bad news?These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.a. Annexing of Ukraineb. ISISc. Ebolad. Fergusone. CIA Interrogation Practice ReportsD. Was 2014 just depressing/frustrating/angering/unnerving news-wise?a. Last year the survey said 29/63, so it was about the sameb. This split is pretty constant. It doesn’t vary much with bad news or good newsE. Has there been good news this year?a. Stock market is improvingb. Gas prices are getting cheaperc. More people think now is a good time to find a quality jobIII. Are There Structural Concerns?A. There are no calls for extreme changesB. Two different types of support for governmenta. Diffuse support: How we feel about the system we’ve chosenb. Specific support: How we feel about those who are running the systemi. We can get a feel for how our nation feels about specific support by examining things like:1. Presidential ratings (the U.S. is pretty 50/50 on Obama)2. How well we feel Congress is doing (the U.S. generally doesn’t like Congress)3. How much support we hold for the Supreme Court (theU.S. generally likes the Supreme Court)C. This must mean that we like democracy (diffuse) but we are unhappy with who’s running it, how they’re running it, and their decisions (specific)IV. Politics: Who Gets What, When, and How?A. Are there concerns with the services our government offers? Is it doing too much? Too little?B. The government provides some services for all while other services are for somea. Maybe all isn’t really all (Ferguson police maybe aren’t protecting everyone as they should be)b. Maybe we’re frustrated with who’s in the someV. How Important is Managing the Economy to Us?A. If we took this concern away, most people think we’d feel better about the track the U.S. is headed onVI. Are There Concerns with the Way Our Government Resolves Conflicts?A. Is it not quick enough? (Think Medicare, we’ve been searching for a solution for many, many years)B. Is the Federal Government setting a bad example?a. Thomas Patterson introduced the idea of game vs. governingi. Game: Any time we try to get anything done it turns into “whowon”, a desire to make headlines, and a power struggle (a negative aspect of our government)ii. Governing: Policies discussed, issues talked about, processes are followed (a positive aspect of our government)VII. Five Fundamental Principles Underlining Our DemocracyA. Equality in VotingB. Individual FreedomC. Equal Protection of the LawD. Majority Rule & Minority RightsE. Voluntary Consent to be