Everyone Has the Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Everyone has the hunger to be free. We want to be left alone. We want to go about our lives, not having to conform to other people's demands. We want to be able to bear a firearm, to assemble peacefully, to vote in fair elections, to speak freely, and to practice religion, all without the government or a powerful group ordering us what we can and cannot do.

The Bill of Rights laid out the liberties and rights of its citizens. We are allowed to speak badly about our government. We are able to protest when we feel we have been wronged or we want something changed. We can bear firearms freely. We have the right against being detained without a speedy trial. We have the right not to self-incriminate ourselves. We have the to right to vote for our government leaders. Most or all of these rights we often take for granted. I would not know a life where I could not speak freely. I might not be able to write this article if there was not free speech. Many countries have a shortage of these liberties. They are forbidden to do certain things. They aren't given the basic liberties that we feel are second nature to us. They aren't allowed to follow their dreams or pursue the happiness that every one of us seeks throughout our lives. We reach for it, live for it, and even die for it. Television has illustrated that many countries are striving to procure that freedom.

In Tunisia, young people have taken control of a country that has been under the control of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for the last 20 years. Tunisians could not get jobs without being extorted by local officials. They could not buy a house without bribing an official. Any activity involving government often required money to push the paperwork through. Tunisians who received coll...

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...ansformation, before the dust settles, we could see many more countries that have expelled their dictators for a blossoming democracy. Although the path to self-government is harder than it might seem, right now the people of these countries are united behind one cause. However, who knows what will happen once they oust their dictator? Who will come out as the dominating party? Will they share their new power with the rest of the people? Will the people in the Arab world ever get the chance to pursue their dreams? Or are they doomed to continuous power struggles that will deprive the citizens of the liberty they seek.

It is up to the citizens to decide. If the yearning to be free overcomes the fight to grasp power, then a new wave of democracies will begin overcoming the old authoritarian rule. Everyone has the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.