APIB - Political Ideology and Political Tolerance Lesson

Political Ideology and Political ToleranceTwo Key Factors in Determining a person's political ideology: 1. How much change in government the person is willing to allow, and how quickly he or she believes that change should take place. 2. How much government interference in the lives of citizens should take place, especially in the area of the economy.

America's political culture is deeply rooted in this nation's revolutionary roots. According to the Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness" is the bedrock of American political belief. As the Declaration further states, Americans generally believe that the purpose of government is to "secure these rights" and that the government derives its "just powers from the consent" of the people.

Why do you hold the political beliefs that you do?  Who or what influenced you the most?  What ideology do you tend to affiliate with? Are you more liberal, "left" or are you more conservative, "right"? The term  "right" refers to people who hold traditional values.  The term "left" is used to describe people who support change in society. These terms originated from the French National Assembly during the French Revolution. All those who supported the monarchy went to the right of the speaker, while those who supported the revolutionaries moved to the left.

At this point you need to clearly understand the differences in the political spectrum, the following presentation should help:

Political Terminology

Republican: Supporter of a republican form of government in which leaders are elected

Democrat: Supporter of a democratic form of government where the people rule through elected representatives

Political Party Terminology and Evolution

We have two main political parties in America. These are the Republicans and the Democrats. They have slowly evolved and even competed with third parties throughout history. Below is a basic outline of the major changes in the political parties' ideology throughout history.

Thomas Jefferson's political party was called the Democratic-Republicans (liberals of their day). -> The Democratic-Republicans developed into the Democratic Party of Andrew Jackson. (which championed the rights of the common man). --> The Republican Party was formed to fight the spread of slavery during the 1850s (their views were seen as liberal, if not radical, during the time of Abraham Lincoln). ---> The modern Republican Party emerged during the economic boom of the 1920s under the presidential administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge (with its conservative reverence for big business).

Political Tolerance

Some political scientists argue that there is a connection between the ideologies of liberalism and conservatism and the support for civil liberties and tolerance for racial minorities.

For example, some believe liberals have a greater concern for the rights of the accused and are more willing to expand the rights of due process for criminals. On the other hand, they argue that conservatives tend to draw a tougher line on crime and have more concern for the victims of crime than the rights of the accused.

The most evident differences in the responses of liberals and conservatives are to questions of civil rights and civil liberties.

Ideologies have consequences. The split in political thinking:

  • stir opposing interest groups into actions, like the Christian Coalition, Amnesty International, ACLU, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, etc.
  • reinforce party loyalties and divide us at election time
  • create policy fights in Congress, between Congress and the White House, and during judicial confirmation hearings

 

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