Student
Institution
Date Progressive and Conservative Politicians
Progressive politicians believe in fairness, that the people in a state should not suffer as minorities but rather enjoy economic and decent lives. This life is achieved through fairness at sharing education and a lively participation to the life of the public, hence there should be no special attention to the wealthy or the connected members of the society. Progressive leaders aim to utilize
government infrastructure and funds for the betterment of the people whereby set rules are ensured followed. Conservative leaders are the kind of leaders that believe in having their traditions and political institutions upheld and preserved.
The difference between the two classes of politicians sets them aside as elite leaders. This is because they believe in institutions and as leaders; politics is associated to the people. Conservatism is like a political belief which shows concern to the traditional set ups or more precisely the institutions set up by the peoples discretion. This means that all the foundations of the society will be with held and protected but the conservatives who believe that they are given the mandate by the people to protect what has been built by the society since time immemorial.
My County of origin is Malheur County. It is a county that evolved in the 19th century and has been on a progressive streak ever since its inception. It has the friendliest people who are outgoing and ready to help. The people in the County believe in communism and with that, they are conservative as stipulated to political affiliations. Malheur County covers a large area and is good for sporting events due to its even landscape. I believe the county is more conservative in a political perspective because of its small population and the economic activities of the people.
The people in the County tend to hold onto their old traditions. Due to the landscape of the land, Malheur County has viable hunting grounds, it can be a good hunting site and it is being used for that purpose to today. I believe the state is conservative because of the low population of the people. The population is low because there are many old people, the presence of old people in a place signifies the absence of other younger vibrant members of the society and therefore the old people tend to cling onto the old ways and hence upholding their traditions.
The area also has people that are independent. This means they work hard for their living, the people in Malheur County are farmers and they tend to their farms to produce both food and cash crops which they sell to other surrounding states. Since the area is not made up of many young people. There are no competent formal employment firms that may help in the buildup of the County. It is believed that the old people have their way of holding onto the past or what is familiar to them, therefore they cannot accept any new thing that may come up and when it comes to politics, they revere the progressive minds.
The hypothesis used above is somehow true and partly wrong. The aspects considered include the population distribution, the geographical location urban to local, though on estimating the population, it cannot be said that the population is low, economic activity and even their mode of governing. According to the census taken in 2013, Malheur has a population of 31, 440 people. It is a large number of people and it cannot be said that they are old. Old people need other people to take care of them and therefore it is considered that there is even distribution of people in their different ages and not specifically the old people.
The area is 9,926 sq. mi. which cannot be deduced to be a small area. Due to the expansive nature of the area, there is a possibility of more economic activities being undertaken in Malheur County. It can be an indicator that Malheur County people dont necessarily depend on government institutions to get a means of livelihood. They are not depended on formal employment, the vastness of the area also shows that people are evenly distributed and therefore the capability of knowing each other is minimal. Therefore a communal lifestyle cannot be enhanced, instead people live on their own hence they have progressive minds.
Malheur County is not an urban populated area. This is evident because of the economic activities of the people. The activities include Livestock rearing, food recreation and processing and agriculture. These activities are undertaken to promote the peoples and the Countys economy. In so doing the people become independent, hence work hard in order to maintain and even improve the status quo. The practice of farming which is on a large scale subsistent shows that the community still leans on its old ways.
There is a problem with hunger in Malheur County. Since the community cannot reach out to help its self, there has been a series of food aid directed to help the community. There is an emergency food box distribution in the area. It has been reported that there is an 11 percent increase in the supply of the emergency food box in south east Oregon county area since 2004 (Oregonfoodbank.org). It is an indication that there is continued increase on the dependency on emergency food supply. What is the problem with the farming systems in South Oregon?
Malheur County leadership is dominated by republicans. Among the County officials, there are commissioners (Oregon Secretary of State). It means that the County has many republican supporters, who consider it their right to ensure that the traditions of Malheur County are kept safely. The traditions include the way of life and the partisan way of electing leaders. No matter how brilliant ideas a new leader has, it is hard to secure a vote in the south east County. The people are comfortable with their old ways of life.
In conclusion my hypothesis about the political culture of Malheur County was partly correct. The people in Malheur County are conservatives, meaning they are not willing to abandon the cultures they have in order to embrace new changes in the economy. This has led them to remain in the local towns as well as their rural areas where they undertake agricultural activities. The people in Malheur County do not live in communal arrangements, therefore they cannot affect the decisions and thinking of their fellow citizens as the republicans’ are bound to do. The people have shown an indication of not voting for any other person rather than the republican candidate who received massive support from them.
It seems no one cares these days about work and living to the dream. When asked what they do in the office, a commissioner dismisses the question that office is more important than the work. The leaders closely elaborate that having the office in place makes it easier for the institution to work rather than having an individual to work. It means a leader should be there, but the institution the leader prescribes over is the one with the mandate to work. References
Gobry. E, P. (2015). Reoform Conservatives are Conservative! Theweek.com/articles/539798/reform-conservatives-are-conservative
Hart, P. Cultural dilemmas of progressive politics: styles of engagement among grassroots activists. http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/318184.html
Friedersdorf, C. (2012). What Americans Mean When They Say They Are Conservative. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/01/what-americans-mean-when-they-say-theyre-conservative/252099/
Oregonfoodbank. (2015). OFB Southeast Oregon Services. http://www.oregonfoodbank.org/Our-Work/OFB-Branches/OFB---Southeast-Oregon-Services?c=130690274218039573
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