Persuasive Essay: The Freedom To Do

The Freedom to Do

In the year 1776, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America wrote the Declaration of Independence, in which they declared that all people had the unalienable right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Liberty, or the concept of free will and freedom, is an ideal that is still steadfast today, but many are unsure about what their unalienable right really means, especially in relations to one’s own rights. If Unites States citizens, especially young adults entering the adult world and work place, are ignorant of the liberties that are automatically granted to them, how can one exercise them to the fullest? If someone is unaware that they can legally vote, they are unable to help decide political changes,

As such, one’s actions cannot infringe on another’s liberties. This is where the concept of laws comes in. An example of such would be the freedom of speech and for peaceful protest. If a well know newspaper prints an article against a citizen’s views and they peacefully state or show their opinion against the paper, both sides are within their civil liberties. But if the citizen where to start a violent rally or riot against the company and forced the paper to write something different, they would not be covered by their civil liberty, as it only covers the right to a peaceful protest. The citizen would be arrested for their non-peaceful protest, and infringing on the freedom of the press. Similarly, liberty is in contrast with the concept of determinism, or the idea that human beings have absolutely no free will and cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. Determinism is a doctrine that all events are determined by an external cause, including that of human actions. With this concept, it is believed that no one had free will or liberty, and as such no one can infringe on the rights of others, as they do not

Liberty, or the concept of free will and freedom, has numerous applications in daily life, and defers vastly from the concept of determinism. From the right to vote and chose who will be in charge of everyone’s liberties, to the right to marry whomever one chooses, liberty is an ever expanding topic. It is, and always will be, highly important for every United States citizen, especially the young adults of our future, to know and understand their liberties, so that they are able to protect