Sociological forces drive much of the political phenomena
Sociological forces drive much of the political phenomena that we experience especially on election matters such as campaigns. Politics focus on mechanisms to achieve social control, an effort that cannot be realized without having a profound understanding of how people relate, their behaviors and actions. Social processes heavily determine the forms of government, the laws of the state and the administrative organs' nature. Besides, social customs, norms, and traditions of a given society dictates the laws to be formulated by the state. Former president Barrack Obama and the Current president of the United States, Donald Trump took various stands on key political matters to influence the voters. Barrack Obama campaigned to run for the presidency under the Democratic Party while President Donald Trump won the recent elections on a Republican Party ticket.
Agendas raised by Barrack Obama
Among the most critical agendas that Barrack Obama raised in his campaign were the withdrawal of soldiers fighting in Iraq, and the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. The long involvement of the American combat brigade in Iraq is a controversial matter in the political sphere. Policymakers have been weighing the positive and negative aspects of Americans presence in Iraq, and President Obama was equally concerned as he campaigned for the troops to be withdrawn. The last convoys are reported to have left the war-torn nation in December 2011 an action that is thought to have triggered social disorder with the rise of the Islamic State. With the crumbling of the Iraqi military, Obama's administration was made to make a tactical decision that saw 5 000 soldiers redeployed in 2014 (Gulmohamad, 2014). These forces worked jointly with the Iraqi soldiers on important missions such as retaking the City of Mosul that was under the ISIS control. The relentless fight to eradicate extremism is meant to assure the right to life for all citizens that are law abiding and advocating for peace.
Universal healthcare bill
The issue of the universal healthcare bill was well addressed in Obama's campaign with the aim of drawing more supporters. In every society, the issue of health is very critical and can, therefore, be used to influence the peoples' voting patterns. The cost of accessing healthcare in the US has been so high with many patients being unable to pay the bills. Obama was calculative enough to focus on this social problem and suggesting the implementation of a healthcare bill that would make healthcare to be affordable for the majority of the citizens. Despite appending the signature, the Affordable Care Act did not achieve all the goals intended. However, it should be noted that the law helped to reduce the number of uninsured people in the population. The decision by the Supreme Court in 2012 to make Medicaid optional has however been thwarting efforts to ensure that the people without coverage are reduced significantly (Barrilleaux, 2014). 19 states took a firm stand and refused to expand Medicaid an issue that Obama might not have liked as a result of hindering the goals of making healthcare to be affordable even to low income citizens.
Guantanamo Bay Detention Center closure
The Guantanamo Bay Detention Center closure was another important agenda addressed in Obama's political campaign for the presidency. The presence of the detention center and the prisoners' social conditions has been a major issue of interest even to policymakers in the current administration. Obama succeeded in reducing the number of prisoners despite getting opposition from the Congress. The executive order the prison was meet with the Congress disproval, failing to approve the funds that would be used to close the facility. However, there were significant changes in policies that made the lives of prisoners better because of important considerations such as the dignity of life. Prisoners got military trials, and in some cases, there were transfers to foreign countries hence significantly decongesting the facility.
Controversial social issues raised by President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump also appealed to the voters to assist him in assuming office through focusing on controversial social issues that he thought were affecting the Americans. He came out as a bold candidate who mentioned controversial issues that other candidates would not. He assured the citizens that he would wage a tough war on extremist groups around the world that have been threatening the world peace. Although considered to be advocating for Islam phobia, some of the measures adopted to curb the increase of undocumented citizens particularly from the Middle East. President Trump, later on, imposed a temporary ban on Muslims and even suggested there would a database tracking members of the religious organization after the Paris attack (Nail, 2016). These controversial decisions and remarks threatened American friendship with allies from the Islam world for what critiques called religious intolerance. The Pentagon was supporting the Muslim ban, arguing that it would help to control the spread of ISIL. The social issue was however opposed by some Republican Party leaders as well as Manuel Valls and David Cameron, the then prime ministers of France and England respectively. The need to have social order and good friendship in the international affairs made the president retract his statement, stating that the ban was a suggestion (Meissner et al., 2013).
Strict measures to control illegal immigration
In response to the social challenges triggered by the use of drugs smuggled across the Mexican border, President Donald Trump promised to put up strict measures to control illegal immigration. Besides the policy, he also suggested the idea of putting up a border wall along the US-Mexican border. Trump further caused a diplomacy problem that spoiled the relationship between the two administrations after saying that Mexico would pay for the costs. The position taken by the president was important in solving problems such as juvenile delinquency and arresting drug dealers, serial killers, rapists, and criminals. Although the president was fighting to restore the societal norms, he was advised by party leaders like Reince Priebus to be cautious about his remarks because they could make many Americans pay for the inconsiderate remarks (Newton, 2017).
Warfare programs and the fight against ISIS
Almost all American campaigns have delved into the issue of welfare even in the era when the country embraced an isolationist policy. Many Americans are concerned about the war fought outside the country for either the protection of the nation's interest, restoration of peace or protecting the territorial borders. More resources are currently being allocated to weaponry and research to develop lethal devices to guarantee success in the battle in case of an offensive or defensive war. President Trump promised to reduce the military budget although there were tough decisions regarding the war in Iraq. He argued that leaving the Iraqis to control their affair would not make the country democratic because it would change into chaos (Muddiman et al., 2014). For a long time, the international community has been concerned about restoring democracy so that the citizens are happy with the people in the leadership positions. However, the efforts by the American government to leave the country have revealed that an exit would trigger a revolution that would be ruthless in the use of lethal weapons. It also emerged during President Trump's campaigns that he wished to hit ISIS and mark an end to the terror group within the shortest time possible. Although he was promising to end a war launched by the Americans since the September 11 attack, it meant that more funds were needed hence causing a public uproar.
Conclusion
Conclusively, presidential candidates among other politicians tend to focus on the social issues that when intervened, they make people vote in a particular pattern. Unless one embraces sociological imagination in the analysis, political campaigns would be so hard to analyze and interpret. President Donald Trump was motivated by the need to end the American problems through the construction of the border wall, adoption of better warfare program and the regulation of immigration. The former president, Barrack Obama was concerned about solving social issues such as the high cost of getting health services, the American intervention on unstable regions like Iraq and the closure of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. All these issues have a direct on an indirect impact on the social life, and they seem to be geared towards making the world a better place for all despite the cost implications. One can therefore not understand political matters without taking a sociological stand in the analysis and interpretation of phenomena.
References
Barrilleaux, C., & Rainey, C. (2014). The politics of need: Examining governors’ decisions to oppose the “Obamacare” Medicaid expansion. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 14(4), 437-460.
Gulmohamad, Z. K. (2014). The Rise and fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (Levant) ISIS. Global Security Studies, 5(2).
Nail, T. (2016). A tale of two crises: Migration and terrorism after the Paris attacks. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 16(1), 158-167.
Newton, L. (2017). Trump’s ban on Muslim immigrants has been called “un-American,” but history shows that exclusion is a very American practice. USApp–American Politics and Policy Blog.
Meissner, D. M., Kerwin, D. M., Chishti, M., & Bergeron, C. (2013). Immigration enforcement in the United States: The rise of a formidable machinery. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Muddiman, A., Stroud, N. J., & McCombs, M. (2014). Media fragmentation, attribute agenda setting, and political opinions about Iraq. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(2), 215-233.
