The Importance of Freedom
Many of us take freedom for granted. Many of us tend to forget the
hardships and sacrifices our forefathers of freedom went through. Many
of us fail to cherish and value our granted freedom. Many of us do not
apprehend the full meaning of freedom. However, a few among the
society realize the value of such a bestowment. Our Freedom today
exists as of the actions of those who believed that it was a necessity
to live by and disallowing it is a relic of days more barbarous than
ours.
But those mere sentences will never illustrate to us the hardships and
rigorous tasks undertaken to give us our freedom. At a time many of
our forefathers took up arms and faced the forces of oppression for
our freedom. They entered battles in which they were victorious and
prevailed over oppression. They entered battles that went horribly
awry and were defeated. However, their actions are not another blank
page in a book. Their actions have been inked, remembered, and
praised.
For instance, the Iraqi insurgency is a cause of American occupation.
The Iraqis are being oppressed. When the “coalition of idiots”
launched their offensive against the sovereign nation of Iraq the
worst was yet to be revealed. Iraqi homes were destroyed, the dead
were left on the street, the injured were barricaded from any help by
flattened homes, and the wind carried the howls of dying men, women
and children. Their lives were utterly destroyed like those of
Pompeii’s deadly wrath. Yet a year after these horrible events the
Americans are refusing to leave. Yet a year after these horrible
events the American Armed Forces are ...
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... symbolic victory for the fighters of
freedom. During the Soviet Era, freedom of speech and religious
freedom was forbidden. Citizens of the Soviet Union were forced to
accept conformity. Putting aside their religious, economical, and
political differences accomplished this. Even though, this achieved
stability citizens were deprived of religion, political activity, and
art. This only angered the citizens and brought about the fall of
communism.
By prohibiting the freedom of individuals it causes them to take
extensive measures to obtain it. Even though, conformity brings about
stability it is not so spectacular as instability. Conformity deprives
people of the beauties of life. Conformity creates a non-expensive
civilization. Freedom is a moral right and its exclusion is a relic of
days more barbarous than ours.
The idea of freedom, that America, founded its principles on, has not always successfully held up. Undoubtedly when our country first started, we had the idea in mind, that our constitution would protect the needs of its people, even as those needs alter; therefore it’s wording needed to be, ductile and interpretive. In recent years, this plasticity has become functional and fair, yet in the past, politicians used it to give and revoke, power, to and from people. Prior to the civil war, though it helped spark many of the social/civil revolution we know today, liberty and freedom were a luxury enjoyed by a few people. Woman, non-whites, and low-income people had their liberties denied, questioned or altogether abolished. However these same groups
George Washington once said, “Only virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” England took advantage of its colonies and tried to enforce unfair policies. In 1775, the political mistreatment needed to end and the United States needed to separate from Britain to develop successfully as a country. The American Revolution changed the history of the world. To understand it’s the importance of the American Revolution it necessary to understand pre-war America, the cause of war, Britain’s mindset, United States’ mindset, the economy, significant events, and how the war ended.
Freedom in the United States Essay submitted by Unknown No other democratic society in the world permits personal freedoms to the degree of the United States of America. Within the last sixty years, American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have developed a set of legal doctrines that thoroughly protect all forms of the freedom of expression. When it comes to evaluating the degree to which we take advantage of the opportunity to express our opinions, some members of society may be guilty of violating the bounds of the First Amendment by publicly offending others through obscenity or racism. Americans have developed a distinct disposition toward the freedom of expression throughout history. The First Amendment clearly voices a great American respect for the freedom of religion.
While many words throughout the English language can paint a vivid image or idea, the word freedom is perhaps one of the most ambiguous. “It is defined as the following: the fact of not being controlled by subject or fate; the power of self-determination attributed to will” (“Freedom”). Its definition cannot be simplified into one dimension, and its interpretation is completely contextual. The reason that the definition from the Oxford English Dictionary was given prior, was due to its broadness; making it a more well-suited definition to describe the concept of freedom. In analyzing freedom, similar words will be discussed, freedom’s characteristics described, and examples given, in order to illustrate the word and some of its many uses.
The battle for freedom within America has taken a turn for the worst as can be seen through this minute amount of examples provided. Elitists continue to rule the nation uncontended by anybody. The exponential rate at which our freedoms are being not only diminished but taken away can only be stopped through the political activism of everyone involved in this great community. Even though as a single person, we appear small in the grand scheme of things, it only takes one person to start explosive reforms..
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
The United States' democratic system embraces its numerous obligations in a manner which promotes a comfortable and effective society in which the citizens may embark on everyday life knowing that the government is continually engrossed in performi ng its duties to protect and support the rights of the people. Although suicide is illegal, the government must recognize the trauma of those who are terminally ill in order to maintain a fair and equal democracy. By weighing these ideas and recognizing the dignity of an individual along with the law, government attempts to provide a suitable life for all. Through combined efforts of freedom of expression and censorship, liberty is maintained, because both the speaker's and the listener's rights are re spected. The government recognizes that all human life is precious; and, therefore it does its best to enable each individual the ability to gain their desired position in life throug the help of social services. A position not necessarily of vast wealt h, but one in which a person may feel content and gratified. Jefferson envisioned such cases as above long before they were contemplated; it is through the Declaration of Independence in 1776, he reflected his strong, intellectual beliefs (Jeffers on 615). Of the most important part of Jefferson's philosophy is the following quote:
The Great Concept of American Freedom Early America was a place for anyone to live their life the way that they wanted, as it is now, but back then this was a new concept. Much of this idea comes from the freedoms obtained by living here. Many other countries in the world had many freedoms, but not as numerous as they were in America shortly after the country was founded. Americans during the late 1700's and early 1800's embraced their freedoms and became leaders and expanders, and what we now consider the founders of many present-day cities and towns. One thing that has been present throughout the generations of people living in America, is the desire to set themselves apart from other nations.
In his book, The Future of Freedom, Fareed Zakaria writes that we must make democracy safe for the world. The American democracy sets the standard around the world for liberal democracies, but transitions across for other countries across the world toward a liberal democracy is often difficult and with poor decision making, close to impossible. Liberal democracies are the systems in which people choose their government and live in an environment of freedom. In Zakaria’s book, he warns the readers of several telltale signs that their process toward a liberal democracy is in trouble. He uses examples of different countries doing it right and doing it wrong- the ones discussed in this essay will be Russia and China.
It is debatable as to whether we are free to make our own choices or not. There is a fair range in people's ideas on our freedom. The three main perspectives on our freedom, however, are determinism, indeterminism and compatibilism.
We are suppose to be living in a Nation that is safe, with individual civil rights that allow us to act freely, but when it comes down to it there is still some type of boundaries that we must follow. As individuals we grow to learn that not everything is how it appears. Although the first ten amendments show and explain our own individual rights they are written in a way that allows us to our freedom but only to a certain extent.
The denizen of the oldest and most powerful democracy have been “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). These denizens or citizens are lucky to live in a country where the government can honor such liberties and privileges, unlike many others. Some of their privileges and rights include an ability to peacefully assemble, vote, etc. Yet with such great privileges and freedom comes great responsibilities. These responsibilities are key in keeping our government stable. Democracy and the people’s rights are in peril if they cannot accomplish their inherited responsibilities as citizens of the United States. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin once told Mrs.
Freedom should be given for various reasons. No one in America should have to demand freedom.The constitution says that we have equal rights just as much as whites.It is not fair that blacks should have to fight for their freedom,and whites just live in peace. America was supposed to be created a free country where everyone have free rights but instead African Americans were made slaves. America was supposed to be a place where no one is judged by their race or skin color.Therefore freedom should be given.
It is important to distinguish between freedom’s kinds of values, because in defining a system of government, the attitude towards freedom is a key component. If freedom has no independent value, different schools of political thought might have the standpoint, that we should not value freedom at all, only the things that it is means to. Some might think that they know better what is good for people, and feel justified in constraining people’s freedom. We intuitively value freedom, and usually do not even notice, that we have it, because it woven through so much of our everyday life. We take freedom for granted, even though in some countries it is not so trivial. It is not enough to feel that freedom is our basic right, but to understand why it is so important, and why freedom can not be replaced by the specific ends one might think it is means to. I will argue, that freedom does have independent value. First I will talk about the non-independent value of freedom, and look at the different independent values, then concentrate on the non-specific instrumental value. I am going to look at claims where Dworkin and Kymlicka were wrong, and evaluate Ian Carter’s standpoint.
Freedom – it is one of the most essential, ever-present, and controversial themes in both literature, and throughout the world. Every day we exercise our freedoms without giving a thought as to how lucky we are to have the freedoms that we do. So what is freedom really? Equality, rights, democracy . . . these are all ideas that come to mind. But what are the essential principles of true freedom? True freedom is constituted by safety, the ability to freely express oneself, and the right to live without oppression from government.