This book about Rick Astley, the dog, is dedicated to all of the people who have ever been Rick Roll'd and those who will be...

The American political culture is, of course, based on liberty. Generally speaking, this is the right to be free, as long as another's rights aren't harmed.

Though many people believe liberty is the same thing as complete freedom, our liberty is somewhat restrained through laws and rules in order to protect other people's rights and safety.

Liberty

In the U.S., we have what is known as a limited government. This means that the power of our government is restricted by the Constitution. Our Bill of Rights guarantees that the government cannot infringe on certain civil liberties.

Rick Astley, the dog, loved to walk in the woods listening to 80's pop tunes. He had always admired his liberty to listen to whatever "music" he wanted to. Rick, the dog, had to listen to his music away from civilization though. The reasoning for this was that his neighbors would complain as he'd play his "music" in the early morning...

Arf! Arf!

Are you never gonna give up your liberty to listen to your music as long as you don't annoy your neighbors for the 420th time in a row?

Equality

Although no two people are truly equal, they are considered equal under the law. Some Americans may be poorer than others, and some may have cultural backgrounds different from the majority, but all Americans have the same fundamental rights. The term equality refers to a number of ways people are treated the same.

Political equality means that everyone is treated in the same way in the political sphere. This means, among other things, that everyone has the same status under the law and that everyone gets equal treatment under the law. Everybody must obey the laws, regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, and in return, everyone enjoys the same rights.

In the United States, the government tries to ensure equal opportunity among its citizens by giving everybody access to a solid public education. For example, President George W. Bush and many members of Congress championed the No Child Left Behind Act, passed in 2001, because the law aimed to give all American students a good education.

A good education gives people the ability to compete for good jobs, which means that they can achieve success if they so desire.

Now, Rick, the dog, had had a quite poor education. In short, he was dumb. So, he went to Congress make sure the No Child Left Behind Act was being followed. (with a friend)

Are you going to protest the government again, Rick?

Arf! Arf!

Democracy

Most Americans believe that democracy is the best form of government and therefore tend to support policies that protect and expand democracy. The importance placed on democracy in American political culture usually appears in domestic politics, but sometimes a desire to spread democracy to other countries drives American foreign policy.

The United States is no longer a fully functioning democracy. The Democracy Index 2016, released in January 2017, now lists the United States as a flawed democracy. The basis for the decline was not the most recent presidential election. Instead, the report argues that Donald Trump benefited from a lack of popular trust in American government, a lack that also led to the demotion.

Indeed, the ranking of the United States had been dropping for a number of years; the country was just barely included at the bottom of the list of fully functioning democracies in 2015.

American foreign policy during the Cold War often aimed at supporting and spreading democracy around the world. During the 1980s, members of Ronald Reagan's administration illegally sold arms to Iran in order to raise money for the Nicaraguan contras, who were fighting the communist regime in power.

Civic Duty

Civic Duty plays a pretty significant part in American Political Culture. The term can be defined as the responsibilities of a citizen. Essentially, America desires every one of its people to help their community whenever they can. For example, a citizen will serve on a jury, vote at elections, paying taxes for the