Is There a Future For Graduates of Political Science?

Can one make a living out of political science? The answer to this question will be answered below. But before proceeding, it is also important to know the basics of this course. So, what really is political science? This question is often the most basic point that students of law, politicians, and even laymen are trying to answer in their quest to understand politics. At its most basic core, political science is the study of political behavior, political processes and dynamics, as well as the study of governments in general. Being one of the branches of social sciences, political science aims to analyze, describe, and predict political behavior in relation with existing political systems. Although it is considered science, political science revolves around subjective elucidations rather than verifiable empirical data. As a science, its most essential function is to help individuals understand interpersonal relationships as well as study how relationships between individuals affect other individuals, groups, nation, state, and governments.

As an academic subject, political science is a relatively new form of discipline, which has only gained enough recognition in recent decades in the United States and other countries. It has many subfields such as philosophy, international relations, theory of political systems, political economy, policy studies, and other related fields. Formal students of political science aim to get enough understanding and knowledge of politics in general to help them in their political career. In the United States, graduates of political science are called political scientists. They can get jobs in many government agencies including exciting ones in local, state, and federal government. Some graduates can also go into law, business, electoral politics, and even international organizations.

Job responsibilities can range from boring to exciting. This includes analyzing the entire spectrum of political behavior, public opinion, taxation, public administration, and voting. Research on many public issues and political relationships are also part of the job. Political scientists can also make recommendations as well as suggestions on matters that affect the environment, business, and citizens. Elections such as the coming 2010 Federal Election in Australia can get varied opinions on TV, radio, and other media from many political scientists involved or monitoring the event.

Since getting into career options in college considers the chance of getting employed after graduation, or the high number of future employers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States made a study on the course. The Bureau claimed that jobs available for political scientists is constantly increasing. Thus, there is bright future in this field just like any other career. Average earning of political scientists depends on their education, geographical position, and experience, but usually the starting salary is $27,000. Those with advanced degrees can make more than the average. Further, bachelor's degree holders can also move into paralegals or administrative assistants vacancies. Many graduates of this course can also employ themselves in colleges and universities. On top of this, they can also boost their income by teaching summer school courses, writing books, and even doing consulting works.

Politics Vs The Watercooler - Political Protocol For the Workplace

On the stage in political theatre, we as a nation have been spectators and participants of the greatest, most suspenseful and dramatic miniseries -The Presidential Election of 2008. No wonder this has been our country's current recreation. Do you recall the old adage that politics is the only game for adults?

The players/candidates must be willing do all that can be done to win or they should not be in the public life. Victory is decreed by demonizing your opponents by exchanging vitriol verbal blows. We as the spectators/voters thrive on a culture of a dog-eat-dog mentality. Thus, the metaphor of the theatre sets the stage for "Blood Sports."

There is no need to ponder why debates spill from the family living room, the university classrooms, and other social and religious venues directly into the workplace.

According to a study by Office Team in Medo, California, while once a refuge of a no politics and no religious zone, the workplace has triggered a maelstrom of political debate at the office water-cooler.

The rules of this "blood sport" rely on human nature. The sides we align ourselves in this arena are based on our values. Consequently, our values emotionally define our decisions. If we impose our convictions on others while negating their feelings, it sets forth a dynamite charge of threatening emotions.

Instinctually, the fight or flight response is elicited. While this is a life-saving mechanism, it can also churn dire consequences when produced in a work environment.

Civility expert P.M. Forni, Director of the Civility Initiative at John Hopkins University, found that it is up to employees to handle these concerns at the cubicle level. Most managers will not legislate good manners or dampen debates. Therefore, the employee must use caution in debating and respecting the opinions of their co-workers.

Here are some suggestions of workplace boundaries:

- Stop! Take a minute to access if the time and place is appropriate for political discussion.

- Do not assume others share the same political views as you.

- Do not feel pressured to participate in office debates. Your opinion is just that - yours.

- Be cautious of how you express your thoughts. A friendly discussion is one thing, proselytizing is quite another.

- Be sure to show mutual respect. Remember to give others the opportunity to discuss and share their opinions. Please refrain from defending your views by employing profane language, interrupting or ignoring.

- Do acknowledge your co-worker's good points in his theories.

- Do not judge a person's politics by how your co-worker dresses. A conservative dresser can be quite liberal and vice versa.

- Remove yourself from a discussion with your superior when you do not see eye to eye. Remember you are on the "job" and who is "boss."

- Always remember that the workplace is for work and not for campaigning. Please restrain your passions and your mouth!

In the end, it is up to the individual to find the wisdom to display the skills to remain professional at a time when "we" versus "they" thinking is rampant. Respect your position as an employee at the workplace and as a voter in the voting booth.

Ms. Zazulak Pedro has combined her educational skills in psychology and her certifications in business, children and international etiquette into a unique designation as a "Social Engineer." She strives in not only in teaching the bare knuckles of etiquette, but to delve further in the psychology of etiquette.

The Protocol Praxis incorporates etiquette, NLP, non-verbal and verbal communication skills with covert hypnosis. Empowerment, persuasion and other life-skills become powerful tools that are employed to help one become their own master of their destiny.

Sources of Political News

What source do you use to get political news? Are you sure you are reading or watching an unbiased version of events? Recent polls suggest that most journalists tend to be liberal and thus are more likely to vote Democrats than Republicans. Depending on the individual or the network they work for, their private opinions can sometimes affect the quality of the news they broadcast.

It is a journalist's job to bring the news to the public but it should be presented without being influenced by their personal opinion. They are obliged to tell the truth and remain independent from the event being covered. This is fine in theory but in practice how often are the news people or the publications or networks they represent impartial?

Some people believe that political news is always biased depending on the source of the information. For example certain individuals will only believe what they hear on Fox news and not CNN, while others prefer CNN. Some people believe that Fox leans to the right while others maintain it just provides the news in a format that suits their listeners. At the end of the day, it is a matter of education. You should try to obtain information from a variety of sources so that you can form your own educated opinion on current events. Political news will often be controversial. Good news never sold newspapers or increased ratings!

But the people reporting political news should let the facts prove the point. They shouldn't be tempted to stretch the truth particularly if the reason for doing so is to improve ratings. But this is a theoretical argument. In a society where the news stations with better ratings are more successful and thus earn more money, it is probably unrealistic to expect them to remain totally impartial to events happening in political waters.

American Politics - Power of the Governed

Perhaps the most important measure that the citizens of any democracy have to employ in order to express their opinion of their government is the power to vote. It is via this measure that the founding fathers intended to give the citizens the power to guide the government and its policies. However, modern day ease of communications has opened a new avenue for the nation's citizens to communicate with their government - the public opinion poll.

Some experts assert that in this day of the permanent political campaign, the public opinion poll is even more effective than the vote in holding elected officials accountable and that such polls virtually dictate the behaviors of politicians. Certainly, such polls mean that politicians are under constant scrutiny and that their behavior can be immediately relayed to the public. On the other hand, the opinions of the constituents can be relayed to the politician equally as fast. This sort of immediate feedback is seen as paramount to the performance of the modern-day politician.

Not so long ago, the voting public was the guiding factor in determining the nation's elected government. Voters are still a force to be reckoned with, of course, but it is increasingly the power of the opinion poll that guides political policy. Lawmakers can gauge public sentiment regarding a matter before they actually initiate policy. Although polls are certainly not definitive, they are certainly indicative of the public voice on many issues. However, such polls are somewhat limited. Polls can present a number of acceptable responses but cannot give each person's individual opinion regarding any particular manner. Additionally, polls may try to separate the voting public from non-voters, with the most success, of course, being with polls that are conducted only with registered voters, but impromptu polls rely heavily on the honesty of the individual being polled.

For instance, consider the upcoming presidential election and how the news is constantly referring to which candidate is "ahead in the polls". How many times have citizens heard the phrase, "the polls indicate...."? Although polls and public opinion are not 100% reliable predictors of who will win the election or what the public policy of the day will be, they are definitely indicators of what is important to the nation's voting public. Some experts insist that public opinion polls are so predictive that hoards of voters may not even bother to vote if they are not among the polled majority. Whether this is true or not, American's do rely heavily on their polls to define public opinion.

The issue of voting has been proven in the last two elections to be less of a factor than it once was in determining the nation's government. The last two American presidents have been elected despite the fact that they were not the beneficiaries of the majority vote. The Electoral College has been under debate for quite some time as an outdated system of election and events surrounding the last two elections may have cemented that sentiment. Certainly, the majority of public opinion polls would likely indicate that the majority of Americans would like to have the electoral system reevaluated. Most elections, however, are not so close as to become issues between the popular vote and the electoral vote.

Polls are easily manipulated also, and may be therefore somewhat unreliable. As mentioned earlier, individuals who respond to a poll are generally given a choice between several answers. Again, the actual nuances of their opinions are not conveyed in these responses, although they may be noted by the pollster, and even passed along as part of the final results. Still, it is the wording of the poll itself that may ultimately guide the respondent. For this reason, opinion polls may be less reliable than election polls. Election polls ask the respondent to pick a candidate whereas opinion polls rely on a number of factors for accuracy, including the complexity of the information that the respondent has been subjected to, their base of information, their personal beliefs, and even how they interpret the issues. Therefore, public opinion polls are subject to bias and error.

Still, it is the public opinion poll that permanently campaigning politicians must rely on to determine how they are doing at their jobs and whether or not they should attempt reelection. As the politician invests more and more time into campaigning, the public is watchful and waiting to render an opinion. The politician must now campaign for party representation, then for office, and then immediately for the next election; always remaining as aware of how his or her actions are interpreted and greeted by the nation's voting public.

Democracy and Public Opinion

Since democracy has been defined as, "the Government of the people, by the people and for the people," the crucial role of public opinion cannot be underestimated. It is the public which gives its views about a government by exercising its franchise in the ballot box.

In theory yes, a democracy is a form of Government in which the people have a say in the day-to-day functioning of the Government through the representatives it sends to the Parliament. The very existence of such a Government is well-dependent on the people. So much so good, but, for the people to have some views on subjects of national importance, it is imperative that the public be of some standard of intelligence and knowledge.

Public opinion plays a decisive role in making or breaking a government but the public whose opinion is so very important for the very government but the public whose opinion is so very important for the very existence of the government has got to be of some level so as to be able to hold the reins of the government, to the advantage of the nation. If this is not so, as we see in India, public opinion can be held for a price, it can be bought for a gift, then does such a public opinion have any value or relevance? If a purchased public opinion is to form a government then, Only God may bless or save the fate of the country. It is also quite appropriately said that, a people get the Government they deserve. This is but natural in a democracy for, the people vote to power, types of their own liking and standards, so if the public is uneducated, ignorant and fickle, what result oriented Government can it provide to the country. In such a case, public opinion cannot be really trusted, for, its opinions have been bought by the politicians or political parties for a price. An opinion so made can hardly be expected to last for long, for, it was never a well thought of opinion, it was just a purchased one. Moreover, such an opinion has also the inherent danger of being re-purchased by a higher bidder.

Besides being bought, an uneducated public can also be very easily misguided or, emotionally worked up, in order to get votes at the ballot box. Now, votes got in this way have to be maintained also in the same way, and so this business of give and take goes on endlessly, and the poor illiterate public is taken for a ride. They vote for people for their face value, and taking their speeches as gospel truth but, as soon as the politicians take command of their gains, the voters are clearly and unfortunately forgotten. Thus, the politician only exploits the ignorant and uneducated voters, and make them act as per their own ends. This sort of a picture of democracy is so truly prevalent in India because, our masses are ignorant, uneducated and emotional. They get carried away by the high sounding words, patriotic speeches, and they achieve no goals. The picture is such that, no matter who wins in the fray, the poor common man, who is the backbone of the democracy, gets noting in the bargain. He continues to remain where he was, just to be satisfied with imaginary power in the set up of the Government, and to be remembered only after five years when, once again he will be the all important hand in the formation of the new Government. He will once again see rosy pictures of his future, and the politicians of the highest price will keep ruling. This misrule of our Indian democracy continues to persist because the backbone is very weak being misappropriated. How can a strong body stand straight and firm on a weak backbone?

However, today, after fifty years of misrule, the Indian electorate has somehow become a little alert and has started realizing that, he has been used and exploited by the politican for his own ends, but, since he is uneducated, the poor voter does not understand how he can get out of this rut of being misused. He does understand the misdeeds of the people in power, but he still does not have the insight of how to remedy the present ills of the country. The voter has at last realized that, he has been used as a pawn all these years, and has got no gain in the bargain. At times now, the common man also raises a voice but, again his being uneducated becomes a handicap, for, he usually raises a stir on irrelevant issues which just get brushed aside. He fights for non-issues, this again just because he does not know what to raise a stir for, and how to get about the tackling of issues like inefficiency corruption and other misdeeds of political big wigs.
In such a situation, it can be really said that, a democracy gets converted into a mobocracy, and, public opinion, the backbone of the democracy a mere sham. Getting public opinion has just become as style and eyewash for, what the politicians have been doing for so many years is only imposing there own opinion on the illiterate public.

For awareness and arousal of public opinion, the Television and the press can play a very dominant role. They can help in building public opinion and explaining problems to the masses. However, in India, the politician has managed to get such a tight grip on the media also that this is also mostly tainted, unbelievable and even wrong. With such an aura how will we ever have the correct public opinion built up, on any issue of national importance. This is just propped up by speeches of politicians and tainted media, and, when this works upon the uneducated masses, a messy decoction is the result, as is so evident in India.

Public opinion which is the very essence of a democracy is a hollow farce made up by tales workings on the illiterate masses. Thus, it is very clear that, democracy is meant for a highly educated country where the masses can understand, think, and view all issues and then give their consent. Besides, a democracy is meant for a highly disciplined country where, the masses know that, all rules and laws are meant to be followed and strictly obeyed. A country where the general public is highly illiterate indisciplined, and in a permanent readiness to break any law made, is, absolutely unfit for a democracy. The opinion of such a public can be of no use for the improvement and progress of the country. To cap it all, where, the highest rung of the ladder, the politician is corrupt and unmeaning, the face of the democracy is destroyed and public opinion is not more than just the view of a few selfish politicians, who only work up sentiments and get the desired opinion.

Thus, we can see that, India is the most unfit country for a democratic set up, and its public hardly fit enough to have any opinion. Above all, the politician here is the most corrupt class, and has intentionally kept the masses uneducated for five decades as, he can play merry hell only when, and till the masses are unaware. The democracy of India is in shambles as, the backbone is too weak to hold the system its full lease. To summarise, the democracy, in India, the twins of democracy and public opinion are both dead, or at least taking their life breaths from some internal strengths.

Politics of Popular Culture

One cannot live on a myth in the present; the tradition is being constantly transformed; old is giving way to new in ways more than one. The new changes, or the crossover of trends and fashions, may be generating a feeling of existential urgency; the sublime seems to be melding with the trivial and the creative with the conventional. A sort of re-orientation is going-on so rapidly that the classical concepts of culture appear outdated.

It is also a fact that the greatest number of new ideas in contemporary art, literature and culture have been coming out from the West. Western artists and cultural leaders have been extending the concept of what constitutes contemporary art. It is important to take note of a convergence of new attitudes, especially as there has been a marked shift from the idealist to the materialist view.

The fabric of popular culture, now a celebratory, is interwoven with changes in the world of media, along side too much Soap Operas, MTV music, McDonald fast food, sexist jokes, designer-label jeans and aerobic sports-wear--all with a view to maintaining 'standards'. The so-called 'cultural industries' have been denigrated as tools of the hegemonic classes to impose a passive subservience on the majority of people, be it Europe, America, Asia or Africa. They manipulate the multi layered site of contemporary consumerist culture as well as the emerging hybridization of cultural identity.

A scrutiny of the 'popular', its texts and practices, should help us in negotiating the profound shifts in culture studies as also in relating post-modernist orthodoxy to the post-Cold War developments (in the erstwhile Soviet bloc, and/or East European countries), post-apartheid developments (in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent), post-colonial developments (in Asian and African countries), and more recently, post-Sept 11, 2001 developments (in South/South-east/West Asia, middle East, USA, and Europe).

The politics of popular culture, howsoever post-modernist or post-colonial, is essentially the politics of the ways in which we see ourselves, just as the cultural, the social, and the economic are hardly easily distinguishable from each other. The relationship between popular culture and its two arms, commerce and profit, is highly problematic. Instead of passively consuming a product, users now actively absorb it and reworth it to construct their own meaning of self, of social identity, and group cohesion.

After the Sept 11 terrorist attack on American soil, there has been a greater American hegemonic political and economic presence in every country: TV programmes, newspapers and magazines have been replete with American style and vision. Gradually, the American domination here, there and everywhere, has resulted in a struggle by the subordinate and subaltern forces, even terrorist forces, to demolish it.

A slow ideological indoctrination (to sustain consumerist culture) of the masses, especially the expanding middle class by powerful interests, is going on. The middle class culture is frequently less affiliated to specific class, religion, race, country or politics, and unofficially also remains indifferent to 'national' questions, practicing a sort of 'transnational' solidarity, as far as consumerism is concerned. The American popular culture has given rise, not so much to economic exploitation as the capacity to be able to represent something, or someone, in a peculiar way: as symbolic power; as popular culture within the ambit of power. The media society - whatever its form, shape, size, or colour - articulates this power, perhaps selectively, in a contradictory fashion throwing open for others to decide with whom to associate or empathize. It exposes the mechanisms of identity-creation, participates in identity politics, creates awareness of exclusion or inclusion, and constructs counter-narratives with new critical spaces and social practice. It acts as "central political agent" of the powerful.

The politics of popular culture reveals the conditions under which relationships of power have been shaped in various parts of the world and apparently developed in an emancipating way as everyday culture, or high culture, where new things are emerging and creativity is thriving. In music, for example, since the mid-1990s, musicians have been more lucrative. Choreographers have developed a new sense of body movement and dance aesthesis. Computer evolution has already led to a 'net culture' which links various art forms. Literature is already rooted in this world today and trends in fashion industry are set by FTV models.

At times it may appear difficult to reconcile the various impressions, including the desire to break free of all constraints in art or destruction of its intrinsic significance. The inherent contradictions and heterogeneity of the 'melting pot' that popular culture seems to have turned into may not help us open the path to the human consciousness or even initiate an intellectual debate. But whom to blame when "art blends so seamlessly into the utilitarian"? To quote Hanno Rauterberg, "Art, after all, is not dead, it is in a state of self-induced paralysis."

We are marching into an indistinct future. We experience the effects of globalization in such fields as communication, the media, and the financial markets just as we are experiencing fragmentation of politics vis-à-vis widespread religious, casteist and ethnic conflict, secular nationalism, and regional fundamentalism. At the same time, we are witnessing impoverishment and economic marginalization of a large part of the society. Almost all accepted norms and values are being called into question, just as standardization and differentiation obtain at the same time. However, the struggle continues for coexistence of the glorious past and naked modernization almost everywhere.

What appears more appropriate is the need to appreciate the emergence of a greater degree of interculturalism. The ruling politicians should respect ones right to be different and help create new cultural spaces for others to belong. They should help defuse, absorb and avoid those conflicts that result from the collision of world religions and cultures which are rigidly separated and social differences must be honoured and dogmatism must give way to dialogue. Our living together in a global civilization is not possible without some sort of global ethos on the part of our country's politicians.

Political Claws Slash Into 'The Viewpoints' of Women on the View and Around the World

Sarah Palin has become the seemingly great divide...not just amongst the Democrats who used to vote for Hillary Clinton, before she lost out to Barrack Obama for the next presidential nomination, but, this little policy known woman from Alaska, has set a fire onto the intellectual minds of women across Republican lines. The DNC introduced the Obamas and the Bidens, their policies... what change means times of economic recession ( something that an esteemed member of the Republican party & dear friend of John Mccain's deemed 'a nation whiners") as jobs are lost, affordable health care diminishes, food & gas prices increase...

John Mccain decides to put one over on the DNC...He's advised to do the opposite of what Obama did in selecting his VP...get a woman. Mccain goes & selects a seemingly clueless woman who presided over a small group in Alaska's government for a short period of time...according to alleged reports, the actual business making decisions/footwork of being Governor of Alaska was handled by other people in office, unless it involved bridges, money & chefs...

As the investigation of Mrs. Palin, a soccer mom, appeals to women who once supported Hillary Clinton's get underway in Alaska, she has managed within a close knit Republican watchdog circle to dodge the real issues...now, she'll reportedly be facing a reporter who according to some blogs, remains cordial, but, cooled toward the Demoncratic Nominee for president &...therefore might not ask the VP the hard questions... Bias in the media? Say it ain't sooo...

One News Anchor when reporting at the beginning of the Republican National Convention made an analysis in regards to how the RNC was held up the first day in reference to hurricane Hanna wrecking havoc on the Gulf Coast...this esteemed person went on to allude that this wasn't done during the DNC...what the reported failed to mention, however, is that hurricane Hanna had not touched down during the DNC!

Now, the women at The View are having their say...There seems to be the one very outspoken republican who attempts to shield criticism against her parties nominee, even when the criticism is warranted ...Palin was caught on tape saying how the war in Iraq was God's War... even Sarah Palin must know that the Iraq War has been deemed "Bush's War" because of his egotistical stance instead of fact.

Joy Behar appears to want to say, 'enough already' as she make facial contortions at the insanity of it all...Whoopi is trying to stay impartial, but when Elizabeth continues to make, like Sarah Palin, unsubstantiated allegations against Obama, then, Ms. Goldberg loses her cool & rightly so.

Sherri Shepard seems to have become friendly off camera with the staunch republican, Elizabeth Hasselbeck and she fears, apparently alienating this 'friendship' so keeps her true thoughts close to her bosom...which, Ms. Hasselbeck never does...As a writer who reads/research many opinion/views of all political front runners...the most disturbing thing that keeps gnawing at my writer's pen is the way truth seems to be not the norm in the political arena....

As the war of words continue over this woman of mystery and once perceived sane lose their intellect in their ability to comprehend fact from fiction...my one thought remains that if god forbid, this woman is elected VP...John Mccain at 70-something becomes the next president...what happens , god forbid, if he can no longer memorize his speech and uses the one written for his VP instead?