Unit 4: Political Beliefs and Behavior 1

Which of the following do you agree with? Freedom of speech Abortion Gun ownership Justice Individualism Freedom to worship Hard work Legalization of marijuana Freedom of the press Respect for others Privacy Community involvement Gay marriage Preservation of the environment 2

What is the difference between these issues? 3

What is a political culture?  Political Culture  a distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life should be carried out  this is NOT political ideology (consistent views concerning the policies government ought to pursue)  people can disagree on ideology but share a common PC 4

What is American political culture?  liberty (rights)  equality (of opportunity, not treatment)  democracy (gov’t is accountable to the people)  civic duty (people should take community affairs seriously and help when they can)  individual responsibility 5

Rank em! Which of these is the most important American political value?  liberty (rights)  equality (of opportunity, not treatment)  democracy (gov’t is accountable to the people)  civic duty (people should take community affairs seriously and help when they can)  individual responsibility 6 Which of these is most absent in today’s political culture (that is, where is our greatest deficiency?)?

Comparing America with Other Nations (*generalizations, of course*) 7

Sweden  democracy more deferential than participatory  citizens rarely challenge govt. decisions in court  “what’s best” over “what people want”  value equality as much as/more than liberty  favor equal pay, top limit on incomes; favor less income inequality

Japan value good relations with colleagues emphasize group decisions and social harmony respect the hierarchy

 tend to be more assertive about rights  recent studies indicate: Americans lousy in voting rates but not in other forms of participation; more confidence in gov’t institutions  Americans acknowledge flaws, still “very proud” of nation, “willing to fight” for it  Americans tend to be more religious than Europeans  Religion important in American politics; libs/cons both use religion to promote politics 10

Where Does Political Culture Come From?  Historical Roots  American Revolution = basically about liberty  Federalist-Jeffersonian transition, 1800—birth of party politics  birth of opposition party, adversarial culture; shows liberty and political conflict/change can co-exist 11

Legal-sociological factors  absence of state religion means no “policy from the pulpit”  “Protestant work ethic” (Max Weber): work, save $, obey law, do good works  absence of class consciousness (most people consider themselves middle-class)  political views of employed & unemployed similar (“rags-to-riches” still popular) 12

The Culture War 13  battle over values; money not at stake  compromises are almost impossible  conflict is more profound  about what kind of country we “ought” to live in

CULTURE WAR SLAPFIGHT!!  Is America a “Christian” nation?  Should the Ten Commandments be posted in:  Public schools?  State/federal courtrooms?  Public government buildings? 14

Simply put, two camps:  Orthodox: morality is as or more important than self- expression, derives from fixed rules of God  Progressive: personal freedom is as or more important than tradition with changing rules based on circumstances of modern life 15

PUBLIC OPINION  People don’t spend a lot of time thinking about politics  polls reflect ignorance of legislation, poor name recognition of leaders  public opinion is not firmly held 16

 What do you think of H.R.5309, the Access to Birth Control Act ?  How about this: do you think pharmacists should have the right to refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptive devices (especially birth control pills) if they are religiously opposed to such devices? 17 Rep. Carolyn Mosley, D-NY, author of HR 5309

18

National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform: NBC/WSJ Poll, November 2010  Given more than a dozen options for helping balance the budget, majorities backed just four:  Reduce the number of federal workers  trim federal workers’ salaries  cut overseas military bases  eliminate the tax deduction on home mortgage interest in exchange for lower income tax rates. ocuments/WSJpoll pdf "I'm sure there's waste somewhere," said Terri Davis, 44, a travel company employee from Ashburn, Va. "But I like a lot of government programs that keep order in the streets, that do research about what's dangerous. A lot of things are worthwhile." 19 AND HERE’S YOUR PROBLEM… Erskine Bowles & Alan Sampson