Svetlana Satch

Dr. Lauby Fanny

POLS101: American Government & Politics

4 May 2023

Encounter #1:

Recently, I heard a song by Kanye West called "Life of the Party." In the song, he states,

"Hopped in a Lambo with it, in a damn pandemic, know that Uncle Sam gotta have his damn

hand in it." In these lyrics, Kanye West is referring to the government and their intervention with

the pandemic. This reminds me of when we discussed whether the government should intervene

with the lives of citizens, especially when it comes to intervening with business activity. There

can be many negative effects of government-regulated businesses, which include reduced

efficiency, reduced innovation, reduced consumer choice, and rent-seeking behavior. However,

there can be some positive effects of government-regulated business. These include consumer

protection, environmental protection, economic stability, social welfare, and competition

promotion.

Encounter #2:

The other day I saw a tweet on Twitter by Isaiah Washington, who played Preston Burke in

Grey's Anatomy. To summarize the tweet, Washington states that a lot of people in the media

have been distorting his character and wrecking his reputation. In this tweet, he also stated that

because of all of the hatred he has received expressing his personal and political beliefs, he will

no longer partake in voting. This tweet brings up two important topics which we have discussed
in class. The first one being the impact that the media has on our society. The media can

harmfully impact the way that people are viewed and express only one side of the story. Another

topic that this tweet highlights is voter turnout. The media and the effect it has on individuals'

lives can be very relevant to how many people decide to vote and the media can increase or

decrease this number.

Encounter #3:

Before Elon Musk bought Twitter, the platform was heavily regulated by the government which

only pushed the views of one side. After Musk bought Twitter, he released what is known as the

"Twitter Files," which exposed the government and their secrets to the public. Some of the

content includes Twitter's secret blacklist, the removal of former President Donald Trump from

the platform, the information cartel, and the truth about the COVID-19 pandemic. For our first

discussion, we were asked whether or not we trust the government. In my opinion, I do not trust

the government, especially after reading the Twitter Files. There is so much that the government

is hiding, and how much they control the media to propagate their own views is insane. As an

American citizen, I want to be able to trust that the government is making decisions that are

providing the greatest amount of good for the largest number of people. Unfortunately, this is not

the case in today's society, because why would I trust a government who is hiding crucial

information from the public?