Please respond to the following questions in essay form by listing the number and the question just ahead of the corresponding answer. This will help you with organization of the answers and will help me more speedily read them. Prepare your answers succinctly and as briefly as possible while demonstrating that you know the material. In other words, quality is more important than length. When you have finished your neatly prepared answers, attach a professionally written cover letter which conveys the examination documents to me.
1. Describe the four models of democracy. Tell which one you think most closely resembles today's model in America. Which model do you prefer, and why?
2. Discuss your feelings about how strictly the Constitution should be interpreted. How flexible do you think the framers wanted the Constitution to be?
3. What do you think of the Bill of Rights? How important is the Bill of Rights to us today?
4. Explain the concept of federalism and why it exists. What are its roots? What are the positives and negatives of federalism? How do you feel about federalism?
5. Explain the concepts of Presentism, Pastism, and Placeism. How can their practice impact our thinking and attitudes?
6. What are the commonly accepted bases of our civil liberties and civil rights? What is your current thinking about the government's role in the protection/advancement of civil rights? Where is the balance?
7. How does a bill become a law? Explain the general process.
8. What role, if any, should religion and religious groups play in government and public affairs?
9. if you were the President of the United States, how would you handle foreign affairs (your general philosophy or approach)? Explain this in terms of diplomacy and also defense.
10. Locate a national or local legislator, county commissioner, mayor, city council member, school board member, special district leader, or other public official, and ask him/her what he/she believes is the most pressing issue in society today and what should be done about it. Then explain your analysis of his/her answer. Do you agree with the interviewee's choice of the most pressing issue? If not, what do you believe is the most critical challenge in today's society?