Mayor Bloomberg's Four Freedoms In America

On January 6, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gave his “State of the Union Address,” in which he gave four essential human freedoms that everyone, everywhere must possess: Freedom to worship, freedom of speech, freedom from fear and freedom from want. He states these freedoms to be “a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.” Roosevelt gives the idea that with these four freedoms, people are able to successfully work together in a civilized society. However, there are many instances today where these important freedoms are being challenged, or withheld from the American people. More specifically, people are being challenged on their freedom to worship, or freedom of religion. Freedom of religion is the
Mayor Bloomberg gives his ideas concerning this point when he said, “We are Americans, each with an equal right to worship and pray when we choose. This is a test of our commitment to American values. We must do what is right, not what is easy. We must put our faith in the freedoms that have sustained our country for over 200 years” (Bloomberg 2). Mayor Bloomberg uses the appeal of logos to reveal to his audience the logic in believing in “the freedoms that have sustained America for over 200 years” (Bloomberg 2). Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken! Freedom of religion has helped America to be successful in all of her years since her birth. America’s main charitable efforts have been sponsored primarily by religious people and groups. This includes the founding of schools, medical centers, soup kitchens, and numberless other charities. Many significant moral movements that have taken place in America’s history have been motivated by religious values. Two examples of this is the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil Rights movement. These were led mainly by people who had a foundation in what was morally right and wrong. The core of U.S. values are basically a combination of religious ideals. People who believe that they answer to a higher being are more likely to obey laws and make good choices, even when authorities aren’t there
The Declaration of Independence states that all US citizens have the unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Unalienable rights are fixed rights which are given to us by our Creator and are inseparable from us. Some may say that freedom to worship does not affect people's happiness in the slightest bit. Chaeyoon Lim, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead author of an extensive study on the subject of religion and happiness suggests that for many, “The pursuit of happiness is closely tied with their personal religious pursuit. Lim's study finds that the key factors determining happiness are the social aspect of religion and a shared religious connection built around identity and belonging.” (Sohn) When the General Social Survey asked a sample of Americans in 2004, “ ‘Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?’ religious people were more than twice as likely as the non-religious to say they were ‘very happy’ (43%-21%). The secular people, or those who never attend worship services, were overwhelmingly more likely to say they were not too happy (21%-8%)” (Williams). The right of the American citizens to worship as they please ensures the right to pursue happiness through exercising