Public reason as conceived by John Rawls is incapable of Essay

Public reason as conceived by John Rawls is incapable of satisfactorily resolving the issue of same-sex marriage. Discuss this statement - Essay Example Rawls maintained that ‘the restriction inflicted by public reason is not applicable to all political issues but only relate to those associated with what one can term it as â€Å"constitutional fundamentals’ and questions of fundamental justice1. In the United States, where the value of marriage is advocated through public announcements and educational policies, and is obviously associated to the good citizenship, the gay-couple marriage prohibition does not just divest lesbians, gays, and bisexuals of the legal rights of marriage. Further, public reason tries to exclude gays from institutions which is regarded as basic to the good character and public morality. If the exclusion cannot be trounced by public reason, then the symbolic inequality may reasonably impact an individual’s self-respect. Rawls’ defences of same-sex marriage have been made on the footing of public reason and mainly on the fundamentals of neutrality and equality2. This resea rch essay will discuss in detail why there is a need to legalise the same-sex marriage and why the non-liberal states have to disown the Rawls’s public reason, thereby legalising the same-sex marriage and respecting their citizens’ free and equal rights in their desire to choose his or her life companion. John Rawls’ public reason is fundamentally a theory for accomplishing legitimacy in a liberal democratic society, where the citizens of a state are regarded as free and equal. Thus, in a liberalised society, liberties and rights of individuals are regarded as significant. Public Reason could be explained as a set of principle that citizens of a liberal society may offer one another as the causes and which they reasonably anticipate the other citizens to reasonably to pursue , especially when basic political issues are at jeopardy and when comprehensive doctrines are at struggle. Rawls presents public reason as level-headedness. Thus, public reason

Prohibition in America 1920-1933 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prohibition in America 1920-1933 - Essay Example In 1920, the national policy of Prohibition began. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution had been officially ratified banning the sale, transportation and manufacture of alcohol in the US. ‘The Volstead Act of 1919, also known as the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, gave the 18th Amendment some teeth, clearly defining alcoholic beverage as one with an alcoholic content greater than 0.5 percent’ (Schultz 1999). But the enforcement of the Act became difficult as many Americans enjoyed liquor and would even break the law to acquire alcoholic beverages. ‘Rum fleets filled with liquor from Europe appeared off the Atlantic coast. As many as sixteen ships at a time would lie at anchor just outside US territorial waters while smaller boats made the run to safe harbors. The Canadian border was a sieve through which liquor easily flowed’ (Coffey 1975). As a result, the liquor flowed even finding its way to White House. It was a big failure. One of the important effects of Prohibition before repeal includes the declaration of US as officially â€Å"dry† from coast to coast.