Week 5

After discussing the research paper in class, I realized that my previous topic was over-used.  I also got interested in a few other topics when looking at the database we went to in class.  Here are a few of the topics of interest:

Religion and the Bush Presidency-

-Are Bush's faith-based policies constructive?

 They give a moral structure to his actions and have helped in the difficult time since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001.

-Are Bush's faith-based policies harmful?

They alienate non-Christians, and cross the line of church and state separation.

This is a topic that I would love to research.  I believe that Bush has infused his own personal religious beliefs into public policy far too much.  Our nation that is supposedly built on religious freedom, but apparently this is only religious freedom for Protestant Christians.  There is much insinuation in politics that the Republican party has true values while the Democratic party has no moral compass.  I would enjoy doing research on this topic and arguing that Bush's infusion of Christian religion into his politics is biased and inappropriate.

Another topic that I am interested in is the genocide in Darfur.  Here are the two arguments about U.S. involvement in that region:

The U.S. has no obligation to interfere in Darfur.

It is the responsibility of a country that has the means to aid other countries in need.

I believe that we need to give aid to Darfur, but I know few details of the situation.  I would love to get a broader world-view by learning about this topic.

Currently I am leaning toward Bush's infusion of religion in the state for my research topic, because this is a topic I get very upset about.  Considering the political mindset on Clemson's campus, this would also be a good topic, because I would get to research a side of that situation that is not often presented in my current environment.