Freedom in today’s society is considered a right and not a privilege. Even though it is a natural right that should not be able to be taken away by anyone, there are many ways that the authority of our nations could take that away from us. Freedom is taken for granted when we stop to think about other third world countries. In those countries, there is no democracy. People are not allowed to voice their opinion and are harshly prosecuted if they do. For example, citizens in Egypt began to revolt when their request for a new government was denied. Internet and telephones lines as well as airlines where blocked. People were dying by the thousand by their leader. Over in the United States, we are self righteous to think that those events could never happen to us. That we could say anything we want, whenever we feel like expressing ourselves. We take our freedom of speech and our other freedoms for granted because we don’t know what it is like to live with fear. In our country we can speak out against the government for any reason, when done properly and without harming others. The ideal concept would be for anyone to voice their opinions for a chance to be heard. Throughout our countries history, many important things have changed by someone speaking out and taking a chance. Martin Luther King fought for African Americans and it might have taken him a while for his voice to be heard and understood by all of the country but he got there and accomplished his goal. Because of him and many other people like him, African Americans are able to do things people never imagined back in the say and get treated correctly.
Freedom of speech is one of the most important rights I believe we have that we take for granted, People just don’t appreciate what we are entitled here living in the United States. Americans get everything handed to them in the best was possible and we still continue to not value what we have , even when we know that there are places out there that are not as privileged as us. We just don’t think about that when we do things. I hate noticed that people who are grateful and have the best manners here in America, are immigrants who have come here to better themselves as well as their family. They are grateful because they don’t have such things in their country to help their situation. Even though we like to help others in need we still lack the ability for be thankful for everything we have and get for free, something we were born with which are out rights in this country. If the whole world was to change in the blink of an eye and controlled by someone who restricted everyone from our natural rights, I think America would be the most vulnerable place. This just means something bad has to happen for everyone to be grateful.
It is true that some American people do not realized how great we have it here in the US. They may take their freedom for granted because of that. I have noticed how some people behave, they act like they deserve more than they are given. In the US we do have the freedom to be what we want to be and say what we want to say. If there is something we do not like we can voice our opinion without being punished. It is scary to think what life would be like if we were to have our freedom taken away from us now.
ReplyDeleteI do not know why some people do not care more about their freedom.
In this country we have the right to vote and I see and have heard many people complain about what is going on in our government and they have differences with what is going on. Then Election Day comes and the same people that have lots to say about our “awful country” do not make an effort to change anything by voting. It may be the lack of education and possible the way they were raised. Their parents did nothing so they will do nothing. It makes me angry and disappointed.
Shirley, I absolutely agree with you that we as a nation take our freedom for granted. I hear people complaining about the most simply things in life, but not once are they thankful they have the right to complain about making “minimum” wage. At least they get paid for their work, at least we are able to spend our money on what we please. We are a privileged nation, and people take as much advantage of the fact as much as they can. I’m glad you brought up Martin Luther King because he fought for something that many were to afraid to fight for. This opened up so many doors for America as a nation. People complain about wars, but what they don’t realize is we have to fight for our freedom everyday. Just like Martin Luther King fought every single day for what he thought was right. We also have the power as a nation to rebottle against the government if we feel they are corrupt. Another one of the many great things we can do in America. I love America and I am so grateful for living here. After reading , “ Reading Lolita in Tehran” I am even more grateful for being a women in America. Although I know I take advantage of the freedom given to me every day as well. Thanks for the wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteYou make some bold and all inclusive statements here, I agree that most people take our everyday liberties for granted but not everyone does. In our society, many of us have become accustomed to pinning the blame on others and accepting zero accountability. But as we have learned in this class; it is those who do not have it, yet they will yearn for it. They will be the ones to appreciate it more so than those who have it, and are foolish to not use it. What is it? It goes beyond our freedom of speech, or the ability to vote, it is the capacity to stand up and be heard for our beliefs and convictions. People do not realize the power that they are capable of when they put their minds to it. Like the examples you mentioned, everyone has the capacity to do great things, what they lack is the intensity. Since we do not have that fire under our ass we won't get up and make a change. The freedoms most of us take for granted are not free, the cost is the blood, sweat, and tears of a nation. The problem is that many of our country's citizens either forgot about this cost or they are just ignorant to what the cost is. Either way, our freedoms still should not be taken forgranted or abused.
ReplyDeleteOur country was founded on freedom of speech, we wanted to be able to think for ourselves and question what we thought wasn’t right. This is why we strayed from, and rebelled against the ideologies of Great Britain. I disagree in the sense that I think it is perfectly reasonable to think that what is happening and what has happened in Egypt could never happen here in the U.S. The reason being, we are not a country governed by Man, we are a country governed by laws. If we ever feel threatened in a way that might infringe on our laws and rights as Americans, we have the freedom of speech and expression to do something about it. Other countries don’t have that right, because they don’t have a stable constitution or the freedom of speech and expression. Questioning the government is something that has molded our country into what it is today. Like you said Martin Luther King Jr. is a very good example, he questioned the way this country was operating and it changed for the better. Who knows where we would be as a nation if he had never done that, or if he was shut down before he was able to speak.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the vast majority of us don’t fully appreciate the freedoms that we have. We are however a nation spoiled by the lifestyle of having these freedoms, and we will not regress in lifestyle. When we look at what is happening domestically, we see protest by various groups rallying either for ratification or transformation; this is not a sign that we don’t appreciate our liberties, it appears more as if we (a society of Western Civilization) utilize our rights for the fact that we are able to. Every day we see examples of this, some more controversial than the next, but it is an active practice in our country to voice our opinions and draw battle lines for debate on the expansion of such privileges. RLit is a reality check for all of us in the sense that- it lets us know how we could currently be as a society had it not been for Democracy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that that freedom is definitely taken for granted. I also see where you are coming from when you state the freedom is a right not a privilege. When we take time to sit back and really look at the world on a whole, there is so much that we are unaware of. It’s as if America live in it’s own little bubble. The only thing that draws our attention outside the bubble is when there are issues that arise involving us. As Americans we really don’t take other countries into consideration when it comes to freedom. For example, we have the right and the freedom to criticize our government without being fearful that someone will harm us or kill us if we do. In other countries this is considered to be one of the biggest crimes and you can be killed for it. When I think about situations like these I really remind myself to be appreciative of the freedoms I have. I feel like when people constantly complain about the little things in life they should have things like this to reflect on to aid them in moving on because it really could be a lot worse ya know?!
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