essay rough draft on freedom

 

Essay #1 Freedom

Review the readings by Thoreau, Machiavelli, and Rousseau. Consider their definitions of freedom as you review and reread portions of the essays that stood out to you during the first reading. Think about what it means to be free and what freedom means to you. Pre-write on this topic using one of the pre-writing techniques discussed in class. Pre-writing is essential when it comes to organizing your thoughts. This technique will help you organize your argument before you begin writing.

Writing prompt:

Formulate your own definition of freedom and discuss how living in a civilized society either limits or ensures freedom as you have defined it.

Paper requirements:

4 page minimum (4 full pages)

Follow MLA formatting guidelines (see MLA guidelines on course menu)

Must have a Works Cited page (this is not included in the minimum 4 page requirement)

Avoid the use of 1st person

Make sure that you have a strong thesis that responds to the prompt and focus on staying on topic throughout your paper. You are required to use at least two quotes, with parenthetical citations, from any of the texts we have read thus far. You may also use outside quotes for support. You need to have an introduction and a conclusion, while focusing on developing a strong thesis with well-developed and well-supported paragraphs. You will be required to write a concluding paragraph, but since we have not done any work on conclusions thus far in the course, this will not be the focus of grading.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR ESSAY, it is important that you review the Handout labeled “Academic Voice”. 

Surname 1

Surname 2

Mehwish Elahi

Danielle Stokes

Freedom

01/21/2020

Introduction

Hearing of the word freedom would make one think a lot especially in relation to the things that happen in our society’s today’s. This is because to me freedom refers to the situation where one is able to do whatever he or she feels like doing without the interference of anyone. To different people in the society, freedom could mean having the freedom to speak whatever they want, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression. For a nation such as the United States, having freedom of expression means citizens have the right to give their opinions publicly without anyone’s interference including the government. Under the United States constitution, everyone has the right to freedom. The Cambridge dictionary defines freedom as “the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited”. Others have defined freedom as the state of being not in prison while others referred to freedom as the rights provided in the constitution and the bill of rights. There are many meanings which have been put forward to explain freedom and that is why it is difficult to find one exact definition.

Currently, we are thriving in a democratic society where there are laws are regulations that govern how you as a citizen should behave and conduct yourself. First of all, here your freedom is already being limited because you cannot behave however you want. In a civilized society, the freedoms of the people are limited and restricted using legislations as a means of tyranny.

How living in a civilized society limits freedom

It is clear that the constitution of the United States provides for the right to freedom for every citizen. And for most people, freedom has always been associated with the relationship between the government and its people. Whenever the government goes hard on some issues, citizens cry of their freedom. (Malinowski 3) says the greatest threat to freedom is democracy. Freedom expands to self-ownership, which is something we have lost in the current society. Private property is self-ownership including something one worked hard for to achieve. Therefore, does taxation allow for freedom?

The fact that citizens are indebted to society explains the claim that people do not have freedom in society. Man is controlled by legislations that are tyrannical. Therefore, is the definition that freedom means to do whatever you want without being controlled valid? People are not indebted to society, but rather, they are indebted to actions that are meant to protect others from harm in order to co-exist in a society that accommodates everyone. For (Machiavelli 85), freedom of man is expressed with human independence, ability to make ethical decisions, and the ability of man not to be reduced into a playing toy by world rulers and forces. Forcing people to sacrifice part of what they have worked hard to produce is not living in a free society. This is a barbaric act. The thing that we must be able to pay taxes for the protection of our rights is a total irony. People get jailed because of failure to pay taxes. This is practically forcing one to give you their self-ownership. What happened to the freedom of will?

There are no voluntary actions anymore and maybe diplomacy is a dream. Violence is being used to obtain harmony. For example, a woman was arrested for failure to take her son to school. There is a believe and legislations have been passed that in a civilized society every child has to study. But what happened to the freedom of the mother and the child? What if the mother chose not to take the kid to school? What if the kid decided he does not want to study? Hypocrisy has taken over a civilized society. For example, we say corruption is wrong but it is taking place in different governments right now. Slogans like “the customer is always right” and “money talks”, are they supposed to exist in a civilized society? The answer is definitely NO because everyone has the right to express themselves.

Democracy has taken over freedom. The government through laws and legislations limits and restricts freedoms. For example, (Farley 1) states that the court in its ruling of the case Schenck v. United States in 1919 concluded that individuals do not have freedom of speech that present danger. People who are having peaceful protests in the streets are being arrested with the accusation that they are dangerous. Protests are a means to express their freedom of speech which is today subjected to legislations under the law. In 2017, there was an article talking about a school that wanted to punish those students who could kneel during the national anthem yet the constitution emphasizes freedom of religion. This clearly shows we are far from achieving the freedom stated in the constitution.

We are living in a world where the majority decides. Most of the government decisions and rules are made based on majority rule. Meaning the minority have no right to speak. Their freedom of speech and expression is not considered. Interpretations given by the judiciary and methods of democracy have given power to the majority in a nation that is supposed to provide equal rights to everyone. (Hitchens p.30) quotes the exact words of Thomas Jefferson “democracy is nothing more than a mob rule, where 51 percent of the people may take away the right of the other 49 percent”. With democracy defining a civil society, then the civil society limits our freedoms.

Conclusion

Many definitions have been put forward by people trying to explain what freedom is. One could say that the complex definitions have probably led to the complexity that exists in having freedom in the societies we reside in. it is true that democracy has overtaken freedom. Man’s freedom has been subjected to limitations and restrictions. A civilized society expects you to behave in a manner and say things that are approved by all. Currently our society is constructed by rules and regulations that require us to behave in ways that benefit other people. However, it is also important that people be educated on their freedoms and responsibilities. For example, the law requires every child to get an education. This may be a choice for others following their freedom but when the time comes, a learned person will get a good job, benefit themselves, the community, and the nation as a whole.

Works Cited

Farley, Elizabeth, et al. “Schenck v. United States (1919).” What is News and Who Decides? (2011).

Hitchens, Christopher. Thomas Jefferson. HarperCollins e-books, 2014.

Malinowski, Bronislaw. Freedom and civilization. Routledge, 2015.

Machiavelli, Niccolo. The prince and other writings. Simon and Schuster, 2014.