Aristotle's Essay: We Did Not Lay Aside The Citizen

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We Did Not Lay Aside the Citizen

The United States of America was founded on the idea that from a power beyond this earthly realm, man has been bestowed with sacred rights and liberties which cannot be justly taken away save by the consent of those to whom they were first ordained. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” In the minds of the creators of this nation, freedom was much more than a privilege that they could be seized from a governing hand, given enough strength and wit; rather it was the divine right of all mankind. With this sacred right came a sacred charge: …show more content…

But again, the creation of our government was only the application of ink to paper, it can only succeed if the conditions of democracy, our social contract, are observed and “we the people” play an active role in its workings. Aristotle, one of the first democratic thinkers in history said, “If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.” As citizens we must be participants in order to preserve liberty and equality. We hold to our end of the social contract by obeying the law, and respecting the rights and liberties of others “For to be free” said Nelson Mandela “is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Furthermore as citizens we must be informed and participate in the political process in a meaningful manner, if we don’t understand the issues at hand there is no way that we can defend our personal liberties and interests. We don’t have to all be professionals in the field of politics, this is one way that our representative form of government protects us, but we do have to understand the basic issues and be able to voice our opinions about those. By all these means, we as citizens have the solemn duty to defend the principles that made and keep our country

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