American Political System

Equal Rights

Of course we are familiar with the "civil rights movement" for equality.  But many of aspects of the civil rights movement also contained a demand for greater political participation as well as social protections.  After civil rights were established the next demand came in the form of greater political participation, the right to vote and hold office.  Unlike pure civil rights which poses no threat to the capitalist system, extending the right to vote to the whole population could lead to a greater demand for equality by passing laws to that effect.

This quote points out that in order for change to happen and for all citizens to have a fair chance at equality after establishing civil rights, they also needed to have a voice in government.  In a capitalist system, the rich dictates the political agenda.  Candidates who were in office, protected the interest of the wealthy, and made sure that the laws passed was in their best interest.  To gain greater political involvement, citizens needed voting right so that they could elect people into office that had the same ideas and views as them.  Once in office, laws would be put into place that promoted equality for all.

I chose this quote to point out how having civil rights alone is not enough for equality.  Although citizens are suppose to be treated equally, that's not always the case.  Citizens having a choice of who they would like to elect into government for me is the only way to go.  I believe the chances of equality are greater.