My Political Ideology in Terms of Texas Political Culture

Introduction

The Purpose of this essay is to explain my political ideology and assess it in the terms of Texas political culture and the policies it produces. This essay is also for those who have a limited understanding to no understanding of Texas politics and can consider this essay a stepping stone to get into the intricacies of Texas politics after reading this essay. My political ideology is a republican one. The presence of the republican party in Texas is important because almost half of the voter pollution in Texas is made up of the republican party. Some of the most important core beliefs of the republican party is what will be my main topic of discussion in this essay. Very controversial and current issues such as abortion and how the republican party is trying to fight the epidemic through alternative methods, gun control and what the real problem is when it comes to the argument between the republican and democrats such as mental health and marijuana and how the republican party is not doing enough to stop children from trying I in the first place but how they could make a difference in the future.

Products produced from Republican Ideology

Abortion

The topic of abortion is a social issue that has recently been trending within the last decade and it seems that it will not be slowing down any time soon. In some states particularly democratic dominant states, abortion is something that is an issue that is left into the hands of the citizens to decide whether they can either A. keep the child until birth or B. abort the child. Whereas in Texas we are a very strict Anti-Abortion state. The state of Texas is continually trying to find solutions to the problem that do not violate the rights of the unborn child. The act of having an abortion is very immoral. A child who is unborn but still “living” within his mother’s stomach at any given point in the pregnancy can have the decision made without his or her consent to be killed, yet it is legal in the state of Texas. Although the Republican Party of Texas has not yet accomplished doing away with the issue of Abortion some very Important breakthroughs are being made to halt women from having abortions. Not only does the issue of women having abortions raise moral concerns they also economical concerns for various facets. The republican party of Texas is promoting first and foremost is preventing pregnancies so that abortions are not necessary by putting funding into sexual education to inform the youth before the pregnancy because many republicans believe that the money spent on education and preventative measures rather than spending it on school clinics that provide abortion to students. As for the mothers that are in the stages of having a baby, the republican party is not looking to punish woman but rather provide certain incentives for keeping the baby and putting them up for adoption rather than unconstitutionally killing the baby. According to a republican information website the republican party is actually for giving tax incentives to the women who choose adoption over abortion. In conclusion to the abortion argument the republican party in Texas is going in the right direction about putting and end to abortions and stop abortions being carried out using money from the citizens that should be put elsewhere.

Gun Control

As a citizen of the united states it is important that we exercise our rights and our freedoms given to us by the constitution. Particularly the amendments where we are given very importing rights such as the right to vote and voice our opinion. In these modern times one of the most important amendments that is on the brink of becoming extinct is the 2nd Amendment, the right to bear arms and form a well-regulated militia. While the issue with the 2nd amendment in modern times doesn’t have to do with issue of forming a militia the main area of concern is from having the right to bear arms. When the 2nd amendment was written we were in a time where our fastest and deadliest firearm available was most likely the musket. No one imagined that we would have firearms with the capability to fire 30 rounds or more in just a matter of seconds or be able to accurately hit a target from very lengthy distances. While all this technology sounds excellent for military/Police use and application it just so happens that citizens in Texas are able to get ahold of the same arsenal as the military. In 2019 there are an estimated 393 million firearms in the United States which is more guns than there are citizens and that number is just a rough estimate. In these past few years there has been multiple “mass shootings” through out the united states ranging from single digit deaths all the way civilians being injured in the hundreds. Many naturally are quick to blame the firearm used in these attacks as the object that should be demonized and should never be allowed to be in the ownership of civilian’s period. The republican party has a strong stance on this issue and is willing to protect the right to bear arms. The most important aspect that we must take away from these mass shootings is not the caliber of the weapon, name of the weapon, magazine capacity or rate of fire, it should be the state of mind the person was in when they committed the shooting. A common denominator in these shootings have been the mental health of the individual leading up to the shooting. On the issue of gun control it can be said that the mental health argument is the middle ground for opposing ideology to draw the lien in the sand. Having the two major political parties come to a middle ground is a perfect balance.

Marijuana

From childhood growing up in the deep south in Mercedes, Texas I have seen the good and the bad qualities of the city and its surrounding neighbors. As we are located in close proximity to the Mexican border, we have become a susceptible target to drug trafficking specifically in marijuana. The issue of Marijuana for me is one that hits especially close to home for me as I have seen friends and family members have their lives ruined by it. As for marijuana itself isn’t harmful, it is when it is sold illegally that it becomes the problem. There have been many cases of people who smoked marijuana in an illegal state and overdosed not from the marijuana but from what the marijuana is laced with. Often to keep cost low dealers will cut the product with other herbs that may look similar to marijuana to give it a fuller look. The Republican party of Texas has a strong stake of banning marijuana especially in the southern part of Texas as mentioned earlier we are susceptible to drug trafficking from south of the border Mexico. The Argument by the republican party on marijuana is there is fear that marijuana will be marketed to children as it is already being marketed to legal users in the forms of sugary sweets which very much appeal to children. One might say “well, what’s wrong with children consuming marijuana if there are no harmful long-lasting effects?”. The problem is how easily influenced children are with anything. What happens when marijuana is not a good enough high anymore and they start chasing their next drug of choice. The best option is to just not have a market for Marijuana in Texas period by not having it legalized and pushing for those who are anti-marijuana. In the state of Texas, I feel that not enough is being done to stop Marijuana in its tracks in fact I believe that it has gotten even more popular due to social media and pop culture icons who promote it in music, videos, pictures, public statements and public actions. Instead we should be pushing for laws that make it marijuana paraphernalia, propaganda and being publicly intoxicated punishable with harsher punishment so that it is not seen by children who are easily influenced. Others might argue that we are losing out on a billion-dollar industry by keeping marijuana illegal which is a valid argument to a certain extent but would still not be the solution to stopping illegal marijuana trafficking which is what the republican party is aiming to stop, not teenagers from smoking it. In fact, having legal sales and illegal trafficking at the same time would make the situation more likely to escalate in violence due to competition and for both legal and illegal growers to cut corners and safety in their grow operations making an extremely harmful product.

Conclusion

In conclusion I discussed three major issues that are happening in the country today. Each one is very unique in the sense that the Republican party either has a strong support for or an intense dislike or a middle ground situation. For the issue of Abortion, the state of Texas had already gone to work on developing alternative methods to discourage mothers from abortion which is a win for the Republican party to stop abortions. The Gun control is the most volatile situation of the three because the shootings that spark the conversation of banning firearms are not on a set schedule and vary in numbers. The republican party is almost at a stalemate at all times with the democratic party but come to a middle ground often when arguing about gun control which is not the result that I myself would want. Marijuana has been around for a very long time but only now are we able to comprehend the real effects through scientific methods. The presence of Marijuana is still a very strong one here in the State of Texas especially the deep south. Not enough is being done by the republican party as far as trying to push laws to stop the spread of information about marijuana instead the money is being put towards trying to stop the physical product from entering the country. The Product is not one that should continue if the state of Texas would like to see some change in the numbers of every aspect, such as the number of people below 18 smoking marijuana, the amount of money being spent trying to stop it and even the number of other narcotics found since Marijuana is the gateway drug. To the reader, I thank you for the time you took to read this essay and possibly ask your own questions to yourself such as, what is my own political ideology, does my ideology conflict with the ideologies of my peers and those I surround myself with and will my political ideology change as I get older or perhaps whenever I enter college where others may have different ideological beliefs.