Doin’ It With Kwaisi France: Alexander Walden Pt. 4
In the final installment of this month’s conversation, ultimately Alexander Walden is for Bernie whereas I am Hillary.
Part 4 of my sitdown with artist, activist and Bernie Sanders supporter Alex Walden talking politics and the system within the Democratic Primary. Part 3 is here.
Alexander Walden
Part 4 of our conversation deals with the very nature of our system. These are things that I touch on in the “Constitutional Powers of the Presidency“:
The constitutional powers and duties of the president are outlined in Article II. In spite of popular belief, far fewer explicit powers are granted to the president in Article II than to Congress in Article I.
“Two passages in our governing document have provided the basis for the expansion of constitutional powers of presidential authority. Article II, Section 1, grants ‘the executive Power’ to the president, and Section 3, makes the president responsible for the enforcement of federal laws: ‘he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.’ Americans seem to interpret this as omnipotence of the President.”
The nature of the system is certainly slanted towards those who are knowledgeable, engaged and have resources. In “Seven things Every U.S. Citizen Can Do To Affect The Change,” I highlight the things that everyday citizens can do to alter the course of government which include engagement with your elected officials, engagement with their opponents, use of internet and social media, boycotting, campaign donations, running for office, and litigation. These are things that most Americans do not do.
Alexander Walden and I also talk about the idea of marketing and advertising in the 21st century. Alex’s background in psychology is important here. We have also discussed this in “How Ads Create Needs And Influence Perspectives“:
Many of us intuitively assume that products, and hence their advertisements, exist to fill a preexisting demand. But it frequently happens that products create demand for themselves with advertising, shaping our perceptions of the world in order to do so.
We will be having this conversation with Alexander Walden on a monthly basis. We hope you enjoy it.
