10 Rules for Dealing with the Police Summary

Tiffany Thee

Professor Troy Smith

POSC 110

10 Rules for Dealing with the Police Summary

Throughout this video there seemed to be a main theme tying all of the rules together. The police are prone to jumping to conclusions and in every situation presented, it seemed as if the police try to anticipate the worst scenario when stopping a citizen. Although wise to do so, it is sometimes unfair when police act on those assumed allegations. Many of the rules had to do with stating your rights rather than just saying that you know your rights. When asserting your rights cops are less likely to accuse you and “legally lie” to you to try to trip you up and trick you into giving up some of those rights. The first rule is to remain calm, cool, and collected as to not raise any further suspicion. Though staying calm and not retaliating is one of the most difficult, a lot of real life situations are caused because people have a hard time staying calm and not overreact. In today’s world many people do not understand their rights as well as the cop’s rights. With knowledge comes power and with power comes the ability to avoid any problems that come up.

We as citizens of the United States of America are given these rights and it's a shame when we don’t utilize the liberties that we have. We have many rights to refuse things which can help in avoiding false accusations and detainments. I didn’t know until watching this video that I had the right to tell police that I don’t consent the search of my vehicle, body, or home. It’s also helpful to know that I don’t necessarily have to stay and talk to police because we have the right to ask them whether we’re being detained or if we’re free to go. It’s reassuring that police don’t have complete freedoms to do what they please. It’s also good to know that as a citizen I should be a good witness if there’s a sketchy situation. I look at the news today and there are so many stories about police shooting, killing, and hurting individuals and I wonder if the individuals who are getting hurt know their rights or not. But I also wonder if the police are violating their authority because sometimes the situations seem to escalate rather quickly. The police force in America seems to be rather complicated when people are uneducated and abuse their authority and I think that they should be teaching what are right exactly are in the schools. Instead of learning rights through media and news and becoming ignorant from learning from exaggerated examples we should teach the truth and be prepared for whatever we may encounter in the world.

IT 240 Wordpress assignment

Professor Troy Smith

POSC 110

October 23rd 2015

I Stand Alone

Conservative democrats, liberal republicans, radical communists, socialists, tree hugging greens— with such ambiguity, imprecise sets of values and blurred lines of meaning, I find it hard to confidently place myself within the confines of one political ideology. While many are capable of recognizing and identifying with the specific ideologies and positions of the different parties, I do not. I’ve decided that I am an independent contextualist by deliberating the values of life, equality and privacy.

The value of life is one that I consider to be a major factor that guides my political standpoint. That said, my perspective on life changes when placed in different contexts. For example, the value of life when the issues of abortion and capital punishment arise. With abortion, I am pro-life in the sense that I stand by the life that has been created, and I believe should have the chance to live. However, when faced with capital punishment, I feel that the murderer’s right to life no longer exists after their crime has been committed. Due to my contradictory views on the value of life, while much of my beliefs are in line with those of the republican party, I find it impossible to definitively identify myself as a “Republican.”

The second value I have determined that shapes my political ideology is equality. From my understanding, true equality, equality in terms of equal opportunity for all citizens, clearly comes from the socialist ideology. In my life, equality has determined my choices for as long as I can remember. As a child I would want equal privileges or equal pieces of a cookie, and while the example of a cookie is fundamentally different from that of political issues, the value can still be applied in the same way. As stated before, as an independent contextualist, my views on equality will change based on context. When the controversy of equal pay between men and women arises, I believe that equality should be present and there should be no discrimination based on gender. Men and women should be paid equally; especially if they have the same credentials, and are doing the same type and amount of work. However, if I was to voice my opinion on the issue of gender equal military drafts, where laws which required both men and women to be drafted into war, I would definitely oppose them. In that situation, I wouldn’t want equality between the genders. Scientifically speaking, women are physiologically different than males, the physical capabilities between the two are unequal. Evidently, my perspective of equality has shifted completely and they have begun to conflict with one another. Both examples mentioned have to do with gender equality, yet my perspective on both are different. Thus, making it hard, again, to place myself at one specific point on the political spectrum.

The third value that also has an affect on my political decision is the value of privacy. Privacy does not have a place in all political dilemmas, but when it comes into play, my standpoint definitely shifts. For example, the debate for whether or not the government should have the power to tap phones, computers, emails, etc. Personally, I don’t think that citizens should make a big fuss about privacy being an issue, as long as it is strictly used to prevent terrorist attacks, and it benefits the greater good. But once again, my political views present another paradox. If America was placed into a hypothetical situation where there was a law proposing that the government has the ability to closely surveil the goings-on of every aspect of life, including within the safety of our own homes, I would undoubtedly esteem the value of privacy much more, and defy the law. In that scenario, I feel I might take on a radically democratic standpoint. After all, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union...ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity”(U.S. Constitution, Preamble). Of course we, as citizens of the United States, deserve to prosper and be protected, but when the limits are pushed, and our personal space is infringed upon, that is where I draw the line.

All in all, I definitely am not as developed and involved within the political system as I should be, which is why I identify as an independent contextualist. I believe that placing yourself within the graces of one or two specific ideologies limits our opportunities— it makes us more closed-minded and biased in different situations. I use the basic values of life, equality, and privacy to help me determine my standing on presented topics and proposals. My political views are so ambiguous, my values often collide. Ultimately, though it seems ignorant to not have myself grounded in one specific ideology, as Thomas Gray posited, “ignorance is bliss”; for with knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes the responsibility to fulfill the duties we take on as citizens of a state. That duty, as discussed, is the duty to know where on the political spectrum you stand.

And I stand alone.