Introducing Assignment One
The objectives of this assignment are to identify and compare the American political ideologies and to evaluate the question of who should rule.

Questions:

1. In the Topic 1 PowerPoint, you will notice several slides that have to do with ideological controversies involving the role of government in society.  For example, what should be the future of health care in America?  Was it a good idea to legalize marijuana in California?    Choose an issue that allows you to present a debate about a topic.  Write a dialogue (a conversation) in script form.  Make your different characters have different ideologies such as a conversation among a liberal, a conservative, a socialist, and a libertarian.  (Have a minimum of two ideologies)  Be creative!  If you want to act out and send it to me a Youtube link, feel free (really good ones will get extra credit and I’ll post them)  (fifty points, about two to three pages or 500-800 words)

2. A second fundamental debate about politics is the question of who should rule.  Watch a thought-provoking comparison from TED talks of the Chinese vs. American models of politics by Eric Li. (Links to an external site.)  First, clearly define the elitist vs. democratic models. Second, discuss who you believe should rule. Discuss your reactions to the Ted Talk.  Third, use examples from American or Californian politics to support your perspective.  For example, should the president be elected by popular vote or do you want to keep the electoral college?    Should scientists dictate policy regarding addressing the challenge of global warming or should the people have a say?  Feel free to discuss any issue that helps you address this question about who should rule  (three hundred words approximately) (fifty points). (A note about format: essays should be in a standard format, such as MLA with a works-cited page.  If a question is rather short, or “creative” like a dialogue, don’t worry about MLA.)