All throughout history, there has been a lack of diversity in the U.S. government. For example, from the very beginning, only white land owning males had the ability to vote. And the laws and people they were voting for were created by white males as well as the fact the candidates were also white males themselves. This ideology has certainly stayed in play even with all the change we have seen throughout the decades in the government. Like when women finally had the right to vote in the 1920's. But that didn't mean that all women had the right to vote. So women of low socioeconomic class and minorities were not given the right to vote. In fact, Native American women were not given the right to vote until four years later in 1924. As for African American women, in some states, they weren't given the right to vote until the 1960's. So anyone who wasn't white or rich were unable to vote for a period of time. We can still see these characteristics play a role in today's government such as our politician's, Congress, and federal courts. As of now our members of Congress mainly consist of white men and women. There are some members of Congress who are of color but very few. Due to the lack of diversity in our U.S. Government, there is a lack of representation for minorities or people of low socioeconomic class. In order for there to be equal representation, there needs to be higher diversity in our U.S. Government
Responding to my classmate's blog post, Lack of Diversity, I believe that the United States is taking a very slow and lackadaisical approach regarding the inclusion of a more diverse government. The US government seems to be complacent with the bare minimum amount of representation in public office. It appears as if the government is saying, "You want to have your voice heard? Here, have one seat in office- now you don't have a right to complain about inequalities anymore!" In Trump's cabinet alone, 73% is comprised of white males. Especially with Donald Trump serving as President, the the United States seems to be running under a plutocratic mindset, catering to the mentality of "The rich help the rich", instead of focusing on America's majority- the common man. How can the voices of the majority (roughly 40% being minorities) truly feel heard when the makeup of Parliament is nowhere near indicative of the population? This has been a struggle America has failed to get past, one of the main reasons being the inherent and obvious social prejudices and discrimination (such as racism and sexism) rooted in American government and society. The United States' population demographic continues to change and become more diverse, and in return the government needs to mirror that and begin to change to better fit the nation's needs. Individuals with different views and backgrounds bring fresh perspectives that otherwise might have been overlooked, and simply gaining insight to these perspectives will evitably lead to more informed, unbiased and educated decisions. There is no way the country would not benefit from a more inclusive and diverse government, and representation in office may be a key to solving a facet of the nation's problems.
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