“Radical changes in the world of politics leave America with a heightened responsibility to be, for the world, an example of a genuinely free, democratic, just and humane society.”- Pope John Paul II. With all freedom comes accountability. It is easy for myself and everyone else to take for granted the fact that America is a free country, but as best as I possibly can, I will uphold the culpability given to me, to help my nation in any way possible. Imagine if everyone used their freedoms and abilities to better our country and mankind in general. It is amazing to think what the outcome would be with the participation of all Americans using their freedoms and rights in order to help others, our government, and our country. When I examine …show more content…
These duties include, but are not limited to: voting and respecting the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others. Voting is something that very few countries have the right to take part in. So many people who meet the requirements to vote do not do so, but then complain about how the government is being run. This should not be, seeing as they did not take the time nor the principle to cast their vote on election day. As a young person, I can learn about how the different candidates function and study the subjects that they speak on to prepare for upcoming elections. While many people do not respect or follow this principle, it is our duty as Americans to respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others. Although we may not have the same ideas as everyone else, we should not condemn or tear down a person due to their opinion. One great thing about this country is how diverse its people are. It would be boring if we all had the same ideas. I should listen to others and what they have to say before giving my opinion. If I disagree with their statement, I may contradict it by giving my opinion, but I may not do so in a way that will defame the …show more content…
Some use these rights for evil and not for the greater good of our country. People see the freedom of speech as a way to say anything they want, whenever they want, no matter how it may affect or offend those around them. People see the right to bear arms as permission to carry a weapon with or without a permit, and without limitations. Freedoms are a wonderful thing to have, but we have to use them wisely. Freedom of Speech is defined as the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. However, to obey the aforementioned duty which is to respect the rights, beliefs, and opinions of others, we may not always need to exercise this freedom. Equally important, the right to bear arms is one held very dear in West Virginia. While I do agree that we should be free to carry a weapon legally, I do not see this freedom as a way to go outside of the law to carry a weapon. I also do not support the illegal ownership of weapons in any way. While it is a great privilege to be able to carry a weapon for self-defense, it is not to be used for means of horseplay or outside of the legal perimeters. As my given responsibility, I will not carry or own a weapon
In contrast, some people say they that freedom of expression should not exist or be better controlled. Like everything else, freedom of expression often gets abused or taken advantage of. Some individuals do not know how to control what comes out of their mouths, so they will be ignorant or “jackasses, just because they can. By these people being ignorant, or “jackasses” if you will, it gives freedom of speech a bad reputation. Freedom of expression can
...ot, it allows us to express ourselves freely and to share with others our uniqueness. It is this right and this freedom that allows us to be free in our daily speech and happenings. So, ask yourself, if this right was restricted would this be the "land of the free and the home of the brave?"
According to Roger Rosenblatt “since free is the way people's minds were made to be”, freedom of speech is important to speak one's mind in a way that expresses his/her opinion even if this opinion does not seem to convince others. In my opinion, without freedom of speech, the United States would have failed to be such a powerful country as it is today.
The Responsibility of a Catholic Citizen in a Free Society Before we start to talk about our responsibilities, we should be grateful that we are able to practice our own faith and we can stand up for our religion and speak up about it. We are here to be an example for the rest of the people out there who do not know any better and are falling in their lives. It is our responsibility to help them. We also have responsibilities of our own - respecting the authority of both the church and government, evangelizing and spreading the word, donating time and money to church and those in need, tolerance and many more. We are surrounded by challenges like abortions, poverty, and violence which all destroy the lives of people that were put here by God and were not able to live because of our choices.
Among the many ways Americans can participate in politics, voting is considered one of the most common and important ways for Americans to get involved. The outcome of any election, especially at the national level, determines who will be making and enforcing the laws that all Americans must abide by. With this in mind one might assume that all Americans are active voters, but studies show the voter turnout is actually astonishingly low. With this unsettling trend it is important to know what statistics say about voter turnout as was as the four major factors that influence participation: Socioeconomic status, education, political environment, and state electoral laws, in order to help boost turnout in future elections.
Being expression one of the most important rights of the people to maintain a connected society right to speech should be accepted to do so. The first amendment is one of the most fundamental rights that individuals have. It is fundamental to the existence of democracy and the respect of human dignity. This amendment describes the principal rights of the citizens of the United States. If the citizens were unable to criticize the government, it would be impossible to regulate order. By looking freedom of speech there is also freedom of assembly and freedom of press that are crucial for the United States democracy.
Since this country was founded, we have had a set of unalienable rights that our constitution guarantees us to as Americans. One of the most important rights that is mentioned in our constitution is the right to free speech. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
Since the early history of our country, the protection of basic freedoms has been very important to Americans. The American voice on freedom has been shaped throughout history. The Bill of Rights was originally drawn up in June, 1789. On December 15th, 1791, the Bill of Rights were ratified and added to the United States Constitution. James Madison said that a bill of rights was good for the “tranquility of the public mind, and the stability of the government” (Burgar, Michael, 2002). Free speech and free press were most important to the drafters of the Bill of Ri...
In order to completely understand how far society has come and the amount of work that still must be done, in regards to being able to exercise our voting rights, we must first understand some of the voting barriers that minorities had to face in the past. It was not until 1870 that the 15th amendment was passed, declaring it unconstitutional for an individual to be denied the right to vote based on their color, race or previous condition of servitude. However, the 15th amendment only applied to male individuals, it did not guarantee the right for women to vote. Instead female voters had to wait an additional fifty years until they were granted the privilege to vote. In 1920, the 19th amendment was finally passed, stating that regardless of gender every American citizen had the right to vote.
Freedom of speech is the right of civilians to openly express their opinions without constant interference by the government. For the last few years, the limitations and regulations on freedom of speech have constantly increased. This right is limited by use of expression to provoke violence or illegal activities, libel and slander, obscene material, and proper setting. These limitations may appear to be justified, however who decides what is obscene and inappropriate or when it is the wrong time or place? To have so many limits and regulations on freedom of speech is somewhat unnecessary. It is understood that some things are not meant to be said in public due to terrorist attacks and other violent acts against our government, but everything should not be seen as a threat. Some people prefer to express themselves angrily or profanely, and as long as it causes no har...
Our beautiful country requires a tremendous amount of work from the citizens, after all we are a democracy. As a citizen one of my rights and responsibilities is to vote once I become of age. The United States of America runs like a machine and the voters act as the oil- without our input parts become stagnant, rusty, and break. As a citizen it is my responsibility to give feedback to politicians and voice my opinions, because
This right is greatly abused when it is used to intentionally hurt and discriminate against an individual, and it gets even worse when the perpetrator can get away with it. An example of this would be when an Arab professor at a university was targeted with a hate crime, when a poster that had “terrorist supporter” written on it was directed towards her. When she tried reporting this incident, the administration dismissed her case and concluded that the poster makers were “entitled to free speech,” and that they were simply exercising their right (Hauslohner). A similar incident was about an “anti-Islamic video” that was posted on YouTube criticizing the religion and accusing those who were apart of it with crimes they never committed. Although Google did ban the video in several countries, they didn’t take the whole video down because they believed that the video did “not meet [the] definition of hate speech” (Sengupta). Another instance with the media was a man who sent life threatening messages through Facebook to his wife, he was later fined and imprisoned for this. His lawyer argued “First Amendment protection,” saying that he was exercising his rights, but this only proves that in some cases there is a clear line when freedom of speech is being abused (Advertisement). The only problem is that when this society deems a case insignificant, the line begins to blur (Volokh). Furthermore, the media can spread an idea widely and much faster than before, when hate speech is mixed in, it can lead to results such as cyberbullying which can in turn lead to fatal consequences for the victim (Advertisement). When those who are in power ignore such problematic situations and allow for such vile actions to take place, not to mention on such a grand scale, then
Freedom of speech has many positive things, one of which is the help it gives on decision-making. Thanks to freedom of speech it is possible to express personal ideas without fear or restraints; therefore, all the perspectives and options will be on the table, giving people more opportunities to choose from. Nevertheless, everything in life has a limit, and the limit of freedom of speech depends directly on the consideration of the rights of others. People is free of believing what they want, thinking what they want, and even saying what they want, everything as long as they do not intrude or violate anyone else's rights. Under certain circumstances freedom of speech should be limited, and this is more than just a political action, this acts represent the urge for tolerance and the need for respect.
In a democratic society and government, Freedom of Speech is very useful and more than necessary, as it creates an opening for every protest, vote, and public opinion. Freedom of Speech is the backbone of American Democracy and it's a pretty great thing, although in some specific circumstances, it can be denied such as if someone were to be abusing the freedom and creating a danger for others. Generally, only in extreme cases will this be questioned which is good in preventing a poor outcome in the case of a misunderstanding or abuse of power. Freedom of speech is necessary, as this opens up doors for those who are unhappy with decisions previously made or just clearly want a decision to be made in the present. All of this is good for a society as a whole to not be weakened from corruption even though that may be an extreme case.
Freedom of speech allows you to debate about a problem rather than getting in a physical confrontation. Freedom of speech is what people believe you need to solve something that 's problematic. People suppose freedom of speech is very much needed because without it we would be censored from speaking our mind meaning we can 't say what we want on social media or in person. We would be restrained and have to listen to rules on what we can and can 't say in certain places in the U.S. People use freedom of speech to express that murder ,abortion, or even racism is okay and acceptable. People express these things because they are protected by the right to freedom of speech and they can 't be put in jail for it. The 1st amendment gives people the opportunity to argue that our government is corrupt because they can and will express their opinions on certain topics. Being able to speak your mind lets you stand up for what you feel is right. People exercising their 1st amendment right lets them stand up to rude teachers, bullies, cyberbullies, police officers, government, and just an out of control person on the street without having to physically fight