Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Jonathon Hirschi: "people who would exchange freedom for security deserve neither"
After reading 1984 and reading this questions, we all get images of Big Brother controlling our lives and the Thought Police eliminating any ideas contradicting the totalitarian rule. However, exchanging our freedoms doesn't need to be this radical and limiting. I think it is first necessary to distinguish natural rights from legal rights. Every day we give up freedoms to be a functioning member of society. By living as a part of American society, we all give up our rights to run around naked and kill people. The freedom to swing my fist ends at the tip of your nose. A person's freedoms cannot impede on others'. On the other hand, our legal rights are the rights given to us within society. Some people are willing to give up their right to free speech, or a right to a fair trial so they will feel safer without being exposed to disorderly people. The question is do these people deserve security and liberty. These people disregard the rights that were fought for by people in the past should be ashamed, but it is very harsh to say that they deserve neither. People like this deserve their sense of security and maybe once they get past their paranoia they can learn to appreciate that many freedoms we all live with.
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5 comments:
I don't know the answer to whether or not they deserve it (it being security), but I don't think they physically have either (either consisting of security/freedom). It seems to me that they safeguard each other. It depends on what you want security from, if you're scared of journalists for example then freedom of the press is something to be squashed. If you're afraid of a governement that has the power to squash the press at will then you have to maintain both freedom and security.
Paige Paulsen. yeah.
as well as deserving security, dont you think that the people who might sacrifice freedom deserve at least to be offered it? Even though they may reject the offer of freedom, it is in our country's constitution that everyone deserves freedom as a basic, inalienable right.
-Johannes Harkins
This is an interesting point of view. I've never thought about it in this direction: we're already losing our individual freedom to secure a whole society. To live in a society, you must give up your individual rights for the sake of everybody else. Good point.
I've seen a sticker that says almost the exact same quote by Benjamen Franklin.
- Melissa Wong
This point is very different. I believe that if people are going to be risking their lives for other people then they should be able to have their own freedom. It would such an isolation to be doing thoughtful things for people and you don't get anything good back to you. That's just cruel.
-Keira W.
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