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The Pros And Cons Of Human Rights

Decent Essays

The idea of human rights has been altered and been highly debated in the United States. Often our citizens, and even our own representatives, are stuck arguing over hot-button topics such as new gun control laws, access to universal healthcare in poverty-stricken communities, and even free speech, especially that of a controversial nature. The ambiguity of what our founding fathers believed our inalienable human rights as citizens under the United States constitution should be today is closely tied with the structure and disparities between social class lines. Currently, our government places more focus on the lower side of the socioeconomic class structure. Just recently, free speech on college campuses has become a hot topic of debate, sparking the political turmoil of maintaining free speech as a right for all citizens, and perhaps even pushing through new precautions to protect it.

The declaration of Independence clearly states the United States government is obligated to allow citizens to enjoy “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” and do everything within its power to uphold these values within the lives of each and every citizen (US 1776). The government may never infringe on these rights, and is even restricted with the first ten amendments of the constitution, known as The Bill of Rights. According to John Locke, a famous philosopher whose influence reached greatly into the hearts of our founding fathers and the constitution, the main purpose of government is to protect an individual’s “property”, which is then later defined as a person’s “life, liberty, and estate” (US 1689). This was the revival of the western interpretation of human rights, which is summarized as a person’s underlying feelings and personal well-being. These values require governmental protection, and grievances must be addressed fairly and equally across the nation. The definition of property is closely tied to the quote in the constitution, if you were to replace the part estate with “pursuit of Happiness”. The idea the pursuit of enjoyment is part of our civil liberties as citizens under the United States government. Our government’s continued support and protection of this civil liberty is an intrinsic value in the

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