Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

What Does “All Men Are Created Equal” Mean?, Morgan Keith

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Some have all too quickly used the term “post-racial” to describe America now that a black president has been elected and re-elected for a second term. It will take much more time than just eight years to reverse the wrongdoings of centuries past.

Author information: Morgan Keith is a junior studying investigative reporting at the University of Missouri. She currently works as a beat reporter at the Columbia Missourian.

The Problem Of The West[Ern], Kiley Duhn

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Three great Western films—Stagecoach, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and the contemporary No Country for Old Men—delve deep into the American psyche and make a broad claim that the American way of mixing freedom and rule is inherently flawed.

Author information: Kiley Duhn is a Business Economics and Accountancy double major and Political Science minor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. After graduating in the Class of 2019, she plans to pursue a career in tax consulting at a public accounting firm.

The Role Of Christianity In Hobbes’S Political Project, David Soper

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

For Hobbes, religion is not inherently beneficial for society. Instead, good theology is required in order to make religion useful.

Author information: David Soper is a recent graduate from Carleton College where he studied political science. He hopes to continue his studies in political theory at the Ph.D. level.

Bionic Wings, Jacob Bruggeman

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

In an infinite expanse such as the one we inhabit, we are mere mites in the soil, “creatures weak and fragile, small and helpless, finite and mortal” (Tucker, First Things, online). Our eyes always fixed upon the future, blooming ad infinitum, we will “run faster,” “stretch” ourselves farther, yet never fail to fall back to the ground. Our hands in the dirt, our fingers moving upon blades of grass, we still hunger for a future of our own design. We are born without wings and bogged down by both our human history and our only true human birthright: to fail, …

Should Pornography That Patently Objectifies Women Be Banned?, Jared Kelly

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The debate around banning pornography that objectifies women fractured the feminist movement. Future attempts to outlaw pornography will follow the precedent set forth in Osbourne v. Ohio and attempt to ban pornography in order to protect public health and safety.

Author information: Jared Kelly is a fourth-year political science and geography student at UC Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys playing chess, hiking, classic films, and reading historical fiction.

A Practical Solution To The Death Of The American Dream, Pamela Larkin

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Has slowing class mobility caused the shift in American culture away from the traditional “American Dream”? Or has this shift in American culture caused slowing class mobility?

Author information: Pamela Larkin is a junior at Smith College majoring in Government and minoring in Mathematics. She is also President of the Smith Republicans, as well as a student-athlete who plays soccer

Constitutional Individualism: The Ninth Amendment And The “Natural Rights Of Man”, Lucas B. Drill

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The Ninth Amendment is not a one-off historical anachronism aimed at protecting nonexistent rights. Instead, it should be construed by the courts as a bulwark against undue governmental interference in people’s private lives.

Author information: Lucas B. Drill is from La Cañada Flintridge, California. He is a rising senior in the Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, in which he is simultaneously pursuing Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Jewish History. Lucas is an aspiring lawyer, constitutional scholar, and judge.

Moving Beyond American Conditional Aid To Haiti, Chang-Dae David Hyun

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

A root cause of Haiti’s poverty is the IMF’s structural adjustment plan. A solution based on Chinese aid, unlike neo-liberal policies, allows Haiti to protect its rice and other industries.

Author information: Chang-Dae David Hyun, former sergeant with the Republic of Korea Air Force, earned his Honors B.A (2017) at the University of Toronto specializing political science. He is the winner of the Kathleen & William Davis Scholarship and Saul & Lois Rae Scholarship at University College (U of Toronto), and spent summer 2017 on a full scholarship to Tsinghua University of China.

Restoring Civic Virtue: The Buckley Model, Moriah Poliakoff

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

The political life of William F. Buckley Jr. stands as a model for reinvigorating the civic virtue that the American founders recognized as necessary.

Author information: Moriah Poliakoff is a junior at Christopher Newport University majoring in American Studies and minoring in Philosophy and US National Security Studies. She has a particular interest in political philosophy.

Omelas And Bensalem: Liberty And Utopias, Alexandria Putman

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Is it possible for a society to be good without liberty? Bacon’s The New Atlantis and Le Guin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas both aid in exploring this important question.

Author information: Alexandria Putman is a Coastal Carolina University student from Tega Cay, S.C. She is a double major in political science and communication. Her research interests include public opinion and utopian political thought, as well as campaigns and elections. She is currently an Edgar Dyer Fellow, an undergraduate research assistant, and the captain of the mock trial team at CCU. Upon graduating, Alexandria hopes to …

The Proof Is In The Pudding: The Myth Of Equality, Emma Lentchner

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Equality is treated as a universal and invariable concept, yet in practice authors manipulate it constantly to articulate their own interpretations, inadvertently transforming it into a political conception.

Author information: Emma Lentchner recently graduated from Smith College (‘18), and majored in Political Theory and Philosophy. She is particularly interested in the underlying patterns that subliminally govern our known world and is continuously looking to explore and deconstruct these mental and institutional constructs.

Originalism: Reclaiming The American Promise, Ayesh Perera

Compass: An Undergraduate Journal of American Political Ideas

Originalism best reflects the Founding Fathers’ faith in self-government and also best preserves the legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Author information: Ayesh Perera arrived in the United States from Sri Lanka in 2014. He graduated (2018) from Miami University with majors in Economics and Political Science, and is pursuing his Master’s Degree at Harvard University.