Amy Miller

American Institutions POLS 1100-042

Final Reflection
Thinking a little more critically when engaging in politics is extremely crucial in understanding what
politics really is about and how it really affects us. I think this class has helped me to engage a little more
in getting the facts and the back story before coming to any conclusions. Many people in every party
make fallacies when making assumptions about opposing parties. I personally have heard many straw
man fallacies when they refer to one another. For example, I have heard Democrats say that
Republicans are racist, discriminate, and are against the poor. I have heard Republicans say that
Democrats just want to mooch off the rich and be lazy and not work. I have heard Independents say that
both major parties want to take all of our American freedoms away. If you look at these statements
critically, see the actions of these particular representatives of these parties both currently and
historically, you would understand that none of these statements are true.
Much of our knowledge of candidates comes from the news media. This medium has a powerful
influence on how we think. While many media outlets claim to be fair and only share the facts, I believe
there is much political bias involved in the stories they select and the manner in which they portray
these stories. This unconsciously contributes to the way one thinks politically. While many stories have
facts that cannot be distorted, they still can be manipulated in the way these facts are presented.
While I strongly oppose revoking any freedoms of the press, such as the 1798 Sedition Act did (which
expired just before President Jefferson took office in 1801), I believe all American citizens need to be
proactive and educate themselves on the facts and not rely so heavily on the information the media
presents. As we have learned in this course, there is only 10 companies that dominate mass media.
News media is highly concentrated as well. This should be concerning as biases towards political parties
can be demonstrated by what stories and information are presented in the news. Facts can be omitted,
distorted, or minimized in order to push a political agenda.
According to our text much of our foreign news since 1981 was reduced by 70-80%. This also should be
disconcerting. It is so important to understand and know what is going on internationally since we as a
nation rely so heavily on their relations. The news media keeping us in the dark on international issues
seems dishonest to me, but knowing this now has helped me to keep up to date through other mediums
such as the internet.
In this course I have appreciated the opportunity to learn more about the political system, how our
officials are elected, what powers they have and how they are able to exercise them. Ive appreciated
learning the history on the formation of out nation, the constitution, our bill of rights, and how bills and
laws were then and are now passed. It has created for me a greater need to be more active politically on
a local level and involve myself in caucuses and educate myself without relying on the media on what
candidates represent.