Additional Extra Credit

As of Monday, June 2nd, my mother has made one comment on all five Voicethreads this trimester.

Presidency Voicethread Photocube

Photo Cube 1) My first image was of a solitary stick figure to reflect the students' belief that the lone figure of president was more commanding (and well-known) of a figure to the American public than all 535 members of Congress.

2) The image of the September 11 attacks conveys the students' belief that sudden attacks such as that one create a rally event that (like its name implies) rallies Americans around their president and gives the president more power during these times.

3) The cartoon of the imperial presidency (portraying Obama as a lazy king) reflect the students' belief that the president's power has grown significantly since the 1900s at Congress's expense.

4) The cartoon of someone jumping to conclusions parallels the president's frequent decisions to "stand your ground" through preemptive self-defense. Most students believe that these decisions are unnecessary and should be reconsidered, as they tip the balance of power toward the executive.

5) The image of the spotlight shows the students' belief that in order for a political candidate to gain attention and support, he (or she) must act more in one of the extreme sides of the spectrum than the center.

6) The image of the well-dressed man looking in the mirror was taken from Katherine's comment, which sums up the students' opinion well: politicians act in their own self-interest, in ways that would help them be reelected.

Bureaucracy Voicethread Photocube

Photo Cube 1) The impossible staircase image reflects the students' belief that in a perfect world, all bureaucratic agencies would be perfectly efficient, yet that is not possible because other problems would arise from making them perfectly efficient (such as huge tax increases).

2) The image of a man walking a "fine line" metaphorically represents the students' belief that there is a difference between government transparency and invasion of privacy. While the public deserves to be informed about things such as where their tax dollars are being spent, it is not practical for the government to make sensitive information regarding the nation's security public (because how could agencies such as the CIA and FBI efficiently operate in that case?) It should be noted that this image does not reflect the most of the students' equally important opinion that a lot of information regarding bureaucracies is available to the public, yet no public interest.

3) The Communist symbol reflects the students' belief that a transition to the more efficient Nordic system would be impossible because many Americans would view such an attempt as an attempt towards communism. The wealthy would loudly protest at the distribution of wealth, and our current national financial situation (e.g. huge debt) wouldn't make an expansion of benefit systems possible.

4) The image of a frustrated man working at a desk reflects the students' perception that many young adults don't want to pursue bureaucratic jobs because of the way they think they operate: boring, with low reward and limited opportunities for advancement.

5) The image of metaphorically cutting the budget shows the students' belief that the current budget does in fact need to be decreased; funding should be based on need and total cost.

6) The map showing the cycle of Republicans and Democrats at the helm of government reflects the students' belief that party politics is inhibiting the efficiency of the bureaucracy.

Judiciary Voicethread Photocube

Photo Cube 1) The picture of the twig reflects the majority of the students' belief that the Founding Fathers did right in making the judiciary the "smallest" branch. However, even though the Constitution was pretty vague in delegating powers, in Marbury v. Madison, the power of judicial review was established, giving the judicial branch more power over the other two branches.

2) The "Keep Calm and Love Number 9" sign shows the students' belief that the current number of justices on the Supreme Court serves its purpose well.

3) The third image I chose was of people shaking hands. This reflects the students' belief that the judicial branch manages to get things done fairly efficiently even though that span the entire political spectra. The image is limited; it doesn't convey the student's belief that the judicial branch is more efficient because there are fewer people (9 vs 535), the process of learning about each court case is relatively simple and they are given ample background information  and briefs, and they are not making laws or anything, they are simply deciding on the constitutionality of the case (which is not anything to be taken lightly; the justices must be acutely aware of the precedent their decision is setting and/or if it is following a precedent previously set.)

4) The image of the Constitution reflects most students' beliefs that the judges' most important duty is to follow the Constitution. There are definitely dissenting opinions: some students claim that moral desirability should be the main guide to a justice's decisions, others who claim practical workability is the most important. However, most students believe that judges should follow the Constitution and practice a thoughtful activism.

5) The evolution of man image loosely relates to the evolution of society (but there was no well-known image for evolution of society that I could think of. Many students believe that justices should make their decisions based off of the current society they live in, not the never-changing Constitution (though that still needs to be applied.)

6) The cartoon image of the three branches of government reflects the overall opinion that the three branches all have checks over each other. Though the students mostly believed the judicial branch to be the weakest branch, they were quick to add that the judicial branch was still powerful. Some students insinuate that they believe that judicial branch is stepping outside of its scope as their decisions stray farther and farther from the original intent of the Constitution; other students believe that justices should base their decisions off of current societal wishes.

Civil Rights Voicethread Photocube

Photo Cube
1) The red marriage equality symbol reflects the students' belief that civil rights emphasizes the equality humans are born with rather than the policy related to it.

2) The sign of the white and colored restrooms shows the prevalence of racist legislation such as Jim Crow laws even following the passing of the civil rights amendments and the majority of the students' belief that politicians turned a blind eye to the continuing discrimination of African Americans because of their personal beliefs.

3) The general opinion regarding affirmative action that it is necessary now in theory, but either a) not implemented properly/abused or b) used in a way that essentially reverse discriminates. Many students concurred that in our society's current state, affirmative action is hypothetically a good policy to follow as it offers a qualified education to those who may not be able to secure one otherwise; however, it should be done away with in the future. Some students suggested that affirmative action be based solely on socioeconomic status/income, not race.

4) The "Intolerance Will Not Be Tolerated" sign shows that the students believed that narrow-mindedness and long running stereotypes about minority groups are the main reason why discrimination has lingered for so long (especially for women).

5) Students' opinions regarding the equality (or lack thereof) between men and women in the workplace and what could and should be done to fix this differed (some argued that women should keep themselves in check and not be too headstrong and also consider the male side of the story, and others believed that an amendment like the ERA really should have been passed). However, both male and female students alike agreed that there is wage discrimination present in the workplace, yet minimal obvious gender discrimination.

6) The forward arrow with "minority rights" on it reflects the students' overall belief that, while huge strides have been taken with minority rights, there can always be more done to provide equality, and in fairer ways.

Civil Liberties Voicethread Photo Cube

Photo Cube

 1) The cartoon making fun of the Patriot Act reflects the students' belief that civil liberties is a more hotly contested issue in society at the moment. However, it is important to note (and many students did) that civil rights was, and still is, debated over nowadays.

2) The image of the eyes (taken from The Great Gatsby) is meant to show that government is prying into Americans' privacy by peering into their private lives and possibly unfairly infringing on our rights (e.g. using TSA scanners).

3) The powerful painting of George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware reflect the students' general consensus that the Revolutionary War had a much larger impact on the United States in comparison to the tumultuous time following the September 11 attacks.

4) The large Venn Diagram is a pictorial representation of stare decisis and its application to Supreme Court rulings. Both Steven G. and David W. agreed that all Supreme Court cases stem from a precedent.

5) The "Human Dignity and Trust" text represents the students' belief that human dignity is a necessity, even when dealing with accused criminals and terrorists.

6) The image of "slim government" reflects the students' overall belief that the government is infringing on the privacy of its citizens and has overstepped its bounds.