What are the three most important aspects or sections of the Essay

What are the three most important aspects or sections of the constitution - Essay Example The Constitution aids in enforcing the boundaries and rights of this relationship. While every aspect and section of the Constitution is important to maintaining control and equality in the United States amongst all citizens, there are some sections that stand out from the others. The Constitution, penned over a span of many years and approved of on September 17, 1787, consists of numerous articles, clauses, and amendments that help to define the relationship that exists between the government, the states, and every citizen of the United States.The first ten amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights, the Fifteenth Amendment, and Article Five each have a significance not only in its context, but in the history behind their existence. Bill of Rights The first ten amendments in the Constitution are more commonly referred to as the Bill of Rights and were among the first laws agreed upon for United States citizens. Just as the name suggests, the purpose of these amendments is to outli ne the legal rights that all United States citizens are entitled to. The significance of the Bill of Rights is that they show some of the issues that existed back when they were first penned in 1789; they also reveal the responses that were given to some of these problems and what was done to overcome them. These were issues that were at the hearts of many of the citizens of America, as well as the government officials that could make the desired changes for the sake of humanity. As amendments of the Constitution, these rights are meant to be upheld and exercised as people see fit. They are also used to help citizens should their rights be questioned, especially in a court of law. One of the most important and most exercised amendments in the Bill of Rights is the First Amendment, which allows for freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and petition. It is this amendment that has allowed people to speak their minds and express their thoughts and feelings, just as long as they adhere to the portion of the amendment that goes against speaking with the intention of starting a physical altercation with another. Under this amendment, citizens are able to freely express themselves as individuals, providing opportunities to healthily debate with others that do not agree on the same position. The significance of this amendment is that it allows citizens to exercise their rights to be individuals without having to censor themselves. Furthermore, it is because of the First Amendment that the United States has the media and art that it does. By exercising their rights to speak or express themselves freely, people have written literature, painted pictures and buildings, and have made careers as musicians under this amendment. It can be said that an entire amendment is the cause of a free, expression-filled America. Yet another most touched-upon amendment, as well as the most controversial, is the Second Amendment, which allows citizens the right to possess weapons. The imp ortance of this amendment is that it provides citizens with the opportunity to protect themselves and their families. Despite the controversy surrounding this amendment and how it should be interpreted, this amendment is being used to make sure that people are entitled to certain levels of physical protection. The Second Amendment is currently being tried in college campuses throughout the United States with the hopes that school-related violence will be drastically decreased. This amendment caters to the safety of American citizens while ensuring that the method of safety is properly implemented and not abused. The importance of these two amendments does not suggest that the other amendments are unimportant to the citizens of the United States. The Sixth Amendment promises a speedy trial for criminal offenses and the Seventh Amendment guarantees a trial by jury of the defendant's peers; the Fourth Amendment

Should Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) be considered in the Research Paper

Should Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) be considered in the rating of Wall Street companies - Research Paper Example This poses the question whether CSR should be considered in rating of Wall Street companies. In this paper, CSR is discussed in cases for and against inclusion in Wall Street company ratings. Approaches to CSR, research and trends are also examined. The author argues that CSR is important and should be considered side by side the companies’ ratings so that stakeholders get a clearer picture about the companies’ operations in the society they work with. The author proposes a simple, qualitative rating scale as a starting point for something as universal as CSR for inclusion in rating Wall Street Companies. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an ethical belief and practice that companies, just like individuals, are responsibilities as good stewards of the society in which they do business with (Wood, 1991). Corporations have an obligation to act in ways that will benefit or sustain society and that their responsibility is not lim ited to their profit. In the last decade, we have seen movements gather momentum requesting for more corporate social responsibilities in ethical practices, for the environment, the working conditions of employees, for the local communities, and towards all stakeholders from suppliers to post-consumption of products. CSR is soon to be integrated with the human resources, business development, operations, and relations (Barnea and Rubin, 2010). This paper will examine the two companies rated by Wall Street: Goldman Sachs and British Petroleum (BP), which very recently have been involved in practices that did not do well to the society in which they do business with. An attempt will be made to see if CSR should be considered in their ratings. In the year 2010, each of the three major credit rating agencies - Moody’s Investor Services, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings - rated both of these companies mainly on their credit worthiness. In the same year, Fortune Magazine also na med them as two of the world’s most admired companies. The question then is whether these companies should be rated solely on scales that show their credit-worthiness or should these ratings also include a dimension that will show how well a company performing in the society in general. British Petroleum (BP) In April 2010, an explosion occurred on BP's oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The Coast Guard reported that 11 people were killed, 17 other others injured and about 4.9 million barrels of oil released to the Gulf of Mexico affecting Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. The oil spill caused extensive environmental damage to the sea and wildlife creatures in the Gulf of Mexico. It also damaged the fishing and tourism industries. The US Government held BP accountable for the damages. BP officials committed to shoulder all cleanup costs and other damages. In addition, the company is also being investigated for alleged unsafe practices which caused the occurrence on the rig leading to the explosion. An internal probe made BP admit to mistakes that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2010, Moody’s rated BP’s senior unsecured ratings as an Aa2 from Aa1. Fitch Ratings rated BP’s long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured rating as an AA from AA+. Reuters also reported in June 2010 that Standard and