In my opinion, freedom with responsibility refers to the fact that with more freedom you get in life, the more is expected of you from others to do the right thing on your own. For example, when I moved up to Rock Bridge from Gentry, I was told about how much freedom you get compared to Elementary and Middle School; you get to eat wherever you want, hang out wherever when you have a free period, and just overall there is more trust in the students. The "with responsibility" part comes in when the students are expected to respect that trust and clean up after themselves when lunch ends, and to take into account that other classes are going on when you talk with your classmates and friends, or else these privileges will be either lessened or taken away.
This principle is applicable in most areas in life. In the adult world, you are given the right to drive and to pay for your own house and live on your own without having the guidance of a parent. The law, though, keeps you accountable for anything that you do to betray that trust and consequences are given based on the crime and the severity, and you are now charged as an adult, as your parents are no longer legally responsible for you. This is what freedom with responsibility means to me.
“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect.”
-Eleanor Roosevelt
This quote describes the basic principles of Freedom with responsibility. It says that to people who aren't responsible and don't put in their work, not at all participating in the day to day expectations and requirements that everyone is held by, they won't get the same freedoms.
"Without responsibility, freedom is a scary thing that destroys all our carefully constructed rules to keep order. And without freedom, the expectation of responsibility is oppressing and controlling."
-Natalie Wohlgemuth
Natalie's blog gave me an entirely different perspective on the phrase "freedom with responsibility". It showed me the important, yet delicate balance between too little freedom and too little responsibility. With too much or too little of either one, the balance is tipped and people are suddenly either too free or too oppressed to function in the orderly fashion that is crucial for our modern day society. Our laws and regulations that keep all of us in line suddenly become worthless if we aren't required to have the same level of responsibility, and they become more weighted and restricting with a higher level of responsibility. Either way would lead to the probable demise of our government as we know it.
(Hawaii)
(California)
We have the freedom to travel anywhere, but it is our responsibility to follow all regulations and safety precautions while getting there, particularly by airline traveling.
In this iconic line, the point that the powers he was given and the freedom to use them comes at the cost of having to keep the people's best interests in mind when he uses them and use them selflessly.
The balance between Freedom and Responsibility is delicate and can be tipped easily.
We have the freedom to get animals and pets, but when we do we have the responsibility to take care of them, because they are dependent on us.
We have the responsibility to do our work at school, but that actually opens up more freedoms later on down the road. Getting good grades opens up more opportunities for colleges, careers, and lifestyles.
Rock Bridge as a whole has many examples of freedom with responsibility. There are numerous clubs and activities that require a lot of responsibility and expect the highest of you. You have the freedom to join the club, and have more opportunities as to what you do with your time and effort, and what experiences you want to glean from them. I personally joined the marching band, because I love to make music, and I like to surround myself with people who like to do the same things I do. You can take many different things at Rock Bridge, which I guess is a freedom of its own: The freedom to chose your own path.
In Marching Band, you are expected to show up to rehearsals and competitions. This is a commitment, but being able to participate and strive towards one goal lets you choose your own path, hobby-wise.
I worked with Maya Bell to complete our research on 9/11 and its effects on America, and how that shows freedom with responsibility.
An event in American history that reflects the principle of freedom with responsibility are the September 11th terrorist attacks. After the catastrophic events unraveled, people were left in fear, and panic stricken masses of people were left desperate for a sense of security. The government quickly passed the US Patriot Act, which at the time somewhat gave the people that security that they wanted. Nowadays, however, many people call this act an attack on our freedoms, as it takes away some of our privacies and increases surveillance on everyone, in attempts to catch the terrorists and make it harder for them to slip through the net as the hijackers from 9/11 so easily did. Some of them set off metal detectors, didn't have ID's and even had box cutters as seen in some surveillance cameras from the airport, and yet they were still allowed on the plane. (Box cutters and other small knives were allowed on planes at the time.)
The four hijacked planes were all commercial airlines headed from the west coast, two hit the twin towers, one hit the pentagram and one crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers revolted against the hijackers. 3,000 lives were lost, and it is one of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil to date.
Airport security was also raised, because of how easily the terrorists made it through. We now have the systems we use today. The cockpit of the airplane is no longer accessible by passengers, and it is reinforced, and bulletproof to prevent unauthorized access. Pilots are now permitted to carry firearms, but they must be trained and licensed in order to do so. Air Marshals were placed on the planes to increase security.
How does this all connect with freedom with responsibility? The people had the freedom to travel without too much security, but with the responsibility to follow the rules and conduct of traveling. When the terrorists manipulated this freedom, it was taken away and more responsibilities were given while traveling.
It also shows that people are willing to do many drastic things when they are scarred that won't seem like such a great idea later, after the terror of the event is passed.
The effect of Super PAC's on the American Political Process
PAC, standing for Political
Action Committee, are groups that donate funds to campaign for or
against candidates to help the candidate they support win the election. They
become a PAC at the federal level when they receive or spend funds of $2,600 or
more to influence a federal election. Before Super PACs, there were only PACs, which were only capable of using
funds up to a $5,000 maximum. Super PACs are able to spend an unlimited amount
of money, but the groups can't contribute directly to a candidate, but they can
run favorable ads about a candidate—or negative ones about their favored
candidate's opponent. The effect they have on the American Political Process? They can influence voters and through them the turnout of the overall election with no cap on how much money the are allowed to spend to do so. In the first mid-term election they became prominent in, Super PACs spent over $80 million towards campaign ads and other favorable media ads that ultimately let the Republicans gain control over the house, which the Democrats called a foul, saying that it was only because of rich individuals in support of the Republican cause that they won.
These groups came to the front with the supreme court case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission
in January of 2010. The main conflict in the case was whether or not the government could prevent for political campaigns, maintaining that it's
their First Amendment right to support candidates as they choose.
Obama criticized these committees, stating in short that they made it easier for factions and foreign companies with large amounts of money to have a greater effect on the elections. This means that the election was no longer in the hands of the people but rather in the hands of those with larger sums of money, which isn't what the founders of America set out to create. This also ties back to the summative prompt that we have done in civics: this reflects the challenges of democracy, because democracy also fails to realize that there are other influences in the American political process, such as the ads that the super PAC's let out, get to the people and change opinions of others based on a partially true advertisement in favor of another candidate. There aren't as many places to be exposed to the actual facts about the candidates and what is actually happening, even on the news channels, as even there, where they are supposed to be a hub of information, there are mostly just biased opinions rather than the actual story, and it is hard to form your own unbiased opinion when all of these ads and opinions are all that are filling the media.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete