American Values : The United States

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Final Essay on American Values The United States was founded on six essential values liberty, equality, the pursuit of truth, respect for dissent, self-reliance, and tolerance. Each of these values is not only evident today but is necessary to the future success of the United States. The philosophy of our democratic representative government was established based on ancient concepts, and execution of these values. However, as a society we do not always incorporate these values in our decision making process. This is evident in the debates regarding our racial and ethnic history, equal rights (women), immigration, and the role of religion. While, the Constitution of the United States would not have had the breadth and depth without the vast experiences, respect for dissent, and tolerance that the founding fathers displayed, as a society we do not always display the same qualities. This essay will cover how the six essential values should guide us in the debate of racial and ethnic history, equal rights (women), immigration, and the role of religion. Historically, as a country we have ignored many of the values that our nation is based on when it comes to our racial and ethnic past. Liberty is the state of being free, to enjoy the social, political, or economic rights and privileges, the power of choice (Liberty, n.d.). Liberty should not be limited by sex, race, or ethnic background. “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me.” (Douglass, 1852) to think that a former slave would be asked to speak at an event regarding the 4th of July, a holiday meant to celebrate our freedom, something that we deprived Mr. Douglass of. Legal equality and... ... middle of paper ... ...lusion, each value of the six values has continued to build on one another to give us the government we have today and guide us in the journey of racial/ethnical rights, women’s rights, immigration, and religion in government. Tolerance opens the door for the patience to respect ideas that are different from our own, these ideas can be expressed through the freedoms allowed to all individuals, by exploring those ideas we can pursue the truths necessary to make informed decisions that will continue to allow us to be self-reliant. These values will guide us to continue to make progress not only in these four debates but also in the numerous other issues facing our country. It is important to understand that these values build a foundation, a map, a moral guide to help each one of us broaden our perspectives, positively interact with others, and thrive in diversity.

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