The principle of one person one vote seems to emanate from a definition of person deriving not from gender, ethnicity, race or religion – but rather from membership in the species of homo sapiens. Further, this definition is understood to imply consequent right to influence issues affecting that person. This right to influence seems positively related to both the relative influence that issue has over that person and to the expertise that person has regarding that issue. So children as theoretically non-experts do not vote and persons vote for representatives in their home districts. Further, a vote for a regional post carries more relative weight than the same vote for a state post. This principle also allows for each person to influence other persons and so to exercise even more influence in the process. This influence relies upon human cooperation and not compulsion, however. In the US, any person of or over the age of 18 has the right to vote in a public election.
Separation of Powers – Checks and Balances
As prescribed by the US Constitution, the three branches of government (executive, judicial, and legislative) are separate from one another and have power to decide on issues only within their own realm of authority. The system of checks and balances tries to guard against absolute power, in other words, to make sure that no one branch or individual in the government can override and take over the authority delegated to the other branches. The following are the highest levels of each governmental branch in the US: the President of the United States (executive); the US Supreme Court (judicial); and the United States Congress (legislative, consisting of two chambers: the US House of Representatives and the US Senate). In addition to the federal government, the principle of the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances are also built into lower-level (e.g. state, city-wide etc.) governments. The separation of powers means that no one government branch may exercise absolute power and that they are independent of one another (for example, the same person cannot be a US Senator and a US Supreme Court judge at the same time). Checks and balances is the system in which the different branches of government balance each other out. Although their mandate and responsibilities are different, this system tries to ensure that no branch of government exercises power over the others. For example, decisions made by Congress can be vetoed by the President, which can in turn be overturned by a 2/3 majority vote of both houses of Congress.
Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Speech
When America fought for its independence from England in the late 18th century, citizens of this new country wanted certain freedoms as a foundation for the new government and society. Many of these freedoms were written into a set of Amendments to the US Constitution. The First Amendment (ratified in 1789) described the freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly that this new government would protect for each individual.
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the choice of an individual or community, in public or private, to express beliefs and teachings as well as practice worship and observances that identify a religious affiliation. The concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religious affiliation or not to identify with a religious community at all. This freedom of religious expression is considered by many people and nations to be a fundamental human right.
The modern American conception of freedom of speech derives from the principles of freedom of the press (mainly in the context of political criticism) and freedom of religion as they developed in England, starting in the seventeenth century. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, such as libel (deliberately telling lies about someone) and the use of "hate speech.”
The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR – 1976).
