Democratic ideals were developed in our country long before individuals clearly understood what they signified. Colonists through out the 13 colonies are the makers of the America we live in today. They began to practice democratic ideals not present in their colony, such as: freedom of religion, voting, and equality. The sense of freedom these colonies had led them to corporate these democratic ideals into their lives. Their way of thinking was not perfect, but it was the beginning, or foundation, of the rights and laws we live by today.…
The thirteen colonies in America began early on to develop democratic features. Today we have many rights we are entitled to follow. We have the freedom to do many things such as religion, speech and many more! Back in colonial times we were just working on these features. In colonial American, colonies had democratic and undemocratic features that made democracy a work in progress.…
Today, The United States of America represents true democracy and a sample of strong and free country, which is fully able to ensure human equal rights to its citizens. However, the history of American democracy and liberty has a long and bloody path. The early colonies of Puritans played a significant role in the establishment of American democratic regime. Next, but not less important contributions made the revolutionary generation of Americans in gaining liberty and equal rights. Two generations of two different periods had one common idea - building a faithful community, which will agree to follow set of rules and recognize the authority…
In the first amendment of the Bill of Rights, it clarified that all citizens of the United States have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. A democracy is a “government by the people”, if the government respects the freedom of speech, of the press, and of association, the 1st Amendment guarantees these freedom from the citizens, which is an important part of…
John Locke says that a person is born with natural rights; the following rights are life, liberty, and property. He believed that the government should protect the people. Which means if the people have a democratic government they should be protected.…
The democracy allowed the people to enact the change they want after they have stated their opinions or beliefs. Without the freedom of speech reforms would have little success. America is now a democracy where you have a say in the government and the ability to say what you want believe what you want and do what you want, but it wasn't always like this.…
The English Bill of Rights precedent for other governments led the idea of unalienable rights to become a hot topic. Citizens under the French and British monarchies believed that “The promise of those rights can be denied, suppressed, or just remain unfilled, but it does not die (Hunt, 175).” Therefore, our rights still exist even if our government suppresses them. Those rights will always be there no matter how much the government tries to belittle them. The uprising of peoples’ belief in their own rights spurred the creation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.…
The enlightenment era, can be said, produced some of the most critical ideas that clearly impacted the development of democracy. This intellectual period that roughly lasted from the 17th to the 18th century is responsible for producing some of the most brilliant political philosophers. Amongst these philosophers and philosophes were political revolutionaries such as Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Cesare Baccaria, Baron de Montesquieu, David Hume, and John Locke. The ideas they promoted and would later be adopted by flourishing democracies included the individual’s freedom of expression and religion by Voltaire, the separation of powers and checks and balances by Montesquieu, rights in the field of criminal justice by Baccaria, federalism by David Hume, and the idea of natural rights by John Locke. One of the most critical enlightenment ideas that contributed greatly to the understanding of the role of government was Rousseau’s social contract. This idea was viewed and generally accepted by many contemporary philosophers and seen as genuine and practical. According to Rousseau, legitimate political authority comes only from a Social Contract agreed upon by all citizens for their mutual preservation. The collective grouping of all citizens, or the “sovereign” he states, expresses the general will that aims for the common good. Thomas Paine further explains this point in his essay Rights of man (1791) by writing that government is not a compact between those who govern and those who are governed, but instead it is a compact between the individuals themselves to produce a government.1 According to both, the general will finds its clearest expression in the general and abstract laws of the state2. Furthermore John Locke viewed the Social Contract as a form of giving legitimacy to a government only through the consent of those whom it governs and that the objective of the government is to protect the individual’s natural rights. Paine further explains that a…
Within a democratic society citizens obtain a specific set of civil, social, and economic rights which others are not entitled to in others countries. World War II was a significant event in history when the United States went to war for its freedoms. During WWII, American’s feared for their safety and for the continuation of these civil liberties due to Hitler’s fascist minded Nazi regime. In Four Freedoms by Franklin Roosevelt, the importance of why we fight for our U.S. freedoms is discussed. Roosevelt refers to the four freedoms as: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. He also relates these liberties to the idea of democracy and why we must help our allies in the…
"never do anything to against the conscience, even if the state demands it." This quote is from Albert Einstein. In this quote, Albert Einstein tells us what a normal person should do when faced with a moral dilemma. What people do is often the opposite of what their conscience tells them to do. " The Sniper" by O' Flaherty and "War" by Timothy Findley are both good examples of this. The two stories both show that war brings people pain because it forces them to contradict their consciences and feelings.…
“The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” -H. L. Mencken. Mencken implies that the average man would rather know that he is safe then to have freedom without safety. He implies that the average man would be happy living as his nation’s pet. So how can we be safe if we don’t have the freedom to voice our oppression? How can we protect ourselves when the ones giving us safety turn against us? Our freedom is what makes us safe, without it we cannot be truly safe. Our freedom of free speech and our right to bear arms are what protects us from being squashed by a tyrannical government. Our freedom protects and empowers us to fight for the safety of all people.…
Over the summer I choose to read The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria, published by W.W. Norton& Company Inc. New York, New York © 2007. This is a unique and intricately assembled collection of 270 pages of opinions, facts, and theories depicting the authors view on what else, democracy in its past present and future state at home and abroad. Democracy is a word with a million meanings: free and equal representation of the people; political and social equality; and a tool or system for trade and economy. Zakaria starts by briefly explaining how democracy has come about, and its origination in the west, and how geographical features such as location (for example the move of the capital to Constantinople), along with its long history and ever changing politics have led to be the building blocks of what we see democracy as today. Liberal institutions and culture were just as important to the growth of freedom in the West as democracy. I also took note that the democracy in terms of what I see and have been taught to view as, is that with democracy comes happiness and equality, each person is important and has a say in our government. Although this book has really opened my eyes in the sense it showed me that democracy wasn’t and isn’t always the right tool to use when trying to fix or setup a government and its policies and is certainly not the ticket to freedom. Civil society was a key element in the stability and development of freedom and democracy; also that economic freedom and political freedom are intertwined. Each government and country was formed differently, not one I don’t think has the exact same history, politics, culture, or philosophy. Sometimes the idealistic features tacked onto democracy don’t always flow correctly in sync with human growth, nature, and cultures. “Geography and history combined to help shape Europe’s political structure”…
Seriously, can you imagine what the United States would be like if we didn’t have a democracy? Without the Magna Carta or Bill of Rights the U.S would be hectic because the federal government would have more power and they would be able to do things unfairly. The Magna Carta influenced our most cherished document the Bill of Rights in two noble ways; individual freedom, and by restricting the power of the government.…
The American people tend to love a rebel. We have been raised on the tales of Luke Skywalker defeating the tyrannical Empire, hallowed stories of Katniss Everdeen committing war crimes, or too-mad-to-play-Mad Max Mel Gibson leading the Scots against a sociopath called Longshanks. Privileged people such as myself are rarely in the position to be forced to fight against the power. While it is difficult to put myself in the mindset of someone who would deem it necessary, I am aware of some injustices that I would rebel for: democracy, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion.…
Carroll suggests that an organization has four duties which are legal, economic, discretionary and ethical. Agreeing with Carroll, discretionary responsibilities are controlled responsibilities an organization undertakes. It could be charitable assistances towards training the dedicated out of work and providing day-care centers. Ethical and discretionary duties are related the only difference is that only a few people believe an organization can achieve discretionary responsibilities, many believe organizations achieve ethical responsibilities (Wheelen et. al, 2014). In my opinion, Bank of America give the impression of concern with its discretionary responsibilities, Anne Finucane states that “Bank of America has developed because of engaging…