America is a unique country, founded on the principle that we are endowed with “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. ” Yet today, through taxes and regulations, government takes half of what each American earns. Government regulates what goods and services entrepreneurs can offer consumers, and restricts consumer freedom to buy many goods from other countries. Politicians currently are trying to restrict or ban what we can smoke, where we can use our cell phones, what we can view on the Internet, and which fattening foods we can eat.
How is it that the people of a country dedicated to freedom put up with such restrictions from political elites? Do Americans still value freedom? Americans still seem to value freedom. But they mistake the problems caused by intrusive government for problems caused by freedom, and thus support restrictions on freedom. In recent decades, many moral habits that result from living free — taking responsibility for our own lives, putting our minds and creativity to their best use — have atrophied.
But just as weakened muscles are strengthened by exercise, a return of our rights to fully exercise our freedom will again make us individuals who will expect nothing less than our full rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom is a condition that allows me to pursue what is truly worthy of me. This requires sacrifice and commitment. Human beings are free where animals are not, because only humans have the capacity to choose between good and evil, to contribute to others and to the world, and to move toward the goal of ultimate Love and Home.
Of course, humans are most free, then, when they are choosing to align themselves with what is good, just, loving, true, and beautiful. The right to petition our Government, though often overlooked in comparison with the other freedoms listed in the First Amendment, is nonetheless a very significant right that we have in this country. This right grants people not only the freedom to stand up and speak out against injustices they feel are occurring, but also grants the power to help change those injustices.
The right to petition government is a freedom that has been firmly upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States on countless occasions, proving that it is considered an inalienable right by the U. S. Government. During the civil rights movement, for example, the Supreme Court upheld the rights of several groups of individuals protesting segregation at public institutions such as libraries and schools, and ruled that these citizens had every right to express their rights under the petition clause.
Looking at the specific definition of the word petition, as it relates to the freedom of petition and the First Amendment, the word can be used to describe any nonviolent, legal means of encouraging or disapproving government action, whether directed to the judicial, executive or legislative branch. Lobbying, letter-writing, e-mail campaigns, testifying before tribunals, filing lawsuits, supporting referenda, collecting signatures for ballot initiatives, peaceful protests and picketing: all public articulation of issues, complaints and interests designed to spur government action qualifies under the petition clause.
In his famous speech “I have a dream”, Martin Luther King uses the metaphor of imprisonment several times to represent the political, social and economic situation of black Americans in the U. S. of the 1960s. “The life of the Negro is still badly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. ” Here, King uses manacles and chains, which both limit the physical freedom of people, to describe segregation and discrimination. This implies that black Americans are ‘socially quarantined’ by the force of prejudice and injustice, emphasizing the idea of ‘imprisonment’.
Besides, King describes the whole nation as loan which has defaulted – “They were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir… It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. ” The word ‘default’ indicates that the whole nation failed to fulfill the obligation that every citizen should share equal rights. King also claims that “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
By drawing parallel between quick sands – which can trap everything inside – and our nation, King tries to convince his listeners that freedom itself, in the U. S. , has been captured by racism, and we cannot be free unless we can break out of this prison of racial injustice. To be free to do something, you must be free not to do it. We are free to love only to the extent that we aren’t forced into it by guilt, shame, fear of abandonment, or, worst of all, the interpretation of vulnerable feelings as emotional needs.
No matter how seductive “I need you,” may sound in popular songs, the partner who needs you cannot freely love you. If someone needs you, he or she is more likely to abuse you than to give freely of love and support. Most painful conflicts in committed relationships begin with one partner making an emotional request – motivated by a perceived “need” – that the other, motivated by a different “need,” regards as a demand. Any disagreement can feel like abuse when the perceived “need” of one party to be “validated” crashes headlong into the “need” of the other not to be manipulated. If you loved me, you’d do what I want (or see the world the way I do),” one argues. If you loved me, you wouldn’t try to control me,” the other counters. The problem is not in the language the couples use or even the content of their arguments, which is why communication and problem-solving techniques rarely help over time.
If they perceive themselves to have emotional needs that their partners must gratify, their desire to love is reduced to “Getting my needs met,” which the partner often perceives as, “You have to give up who you are to meet my needs. Freedom to me means being in a state which enables you to be free from all things that would hold you back or stop you from doing certain things. It could simply mean not being imprisoned, not having a lot of responsibility, not being religious, not having to hold back on words or thoughts. Freedom is simply the act of being free. No longer having any restrictions and hindrance, I believe I will have freedom once I receive my bachelor’s degree. Freedom is basically having the allowance of doing whatever you want without any restrictions if you are not harming other people in the process.
Freedom is being able to learn and grow. Freedom means having the time and guidance to do things right. If we didn’t have freedom, we would be under a lot of pressure because no one would be free. There would be a ton of stress and chaos. Imagine if we were all controlled and didn’t have a chance to do, say, and go as we would like. Imagine if you woke up and everyday someone tells you what time you should be up? Imagine not having the allowance to do whatever you want such as basic things like picking what you would like to eat, wear, what you would do on a specific day, etc.
With freedom comes responsibility. Envied by many, challenged by some. We must never become complacent. We have a duty to preserve our way of life. It is how we repay our debt to our fathers and forefathers. It is ironic how people perceive freedom. So many take this precious gift for granted. Yet there are many others who are deeply grateful. In summary, we are lucky to be in a society of freedom. Just remember, we are the land of the free and the home of the brave. What does freedom mean to you?
