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Questions about civil rights and civil liberties
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Civil Liberties are the rights written on the Bill of Rights; they are the most absolute rights given to us by our creator. These rights cannot be taken away from us by our government and are the most important rights any human being can have. On the other hand Civil Rights are rights which protect equality based on certain characteristics; these are more affected by the law. Civil Liberties and Civil Rights both rights given to Citizens however one is absolute and the other is given by the government.
The 1st amendment is the most widely accepted and enforced civil liberty by every citizen in the United States. The government cannot tell me I have to practice a certain religion nor decided for me which religion I have to follow. I can practice and worship whatever God I may chose. Likewise if I chose not to believe in any God my view point would still be protected under this civil liberty. Civil liberties like the 1st amendment restrict the government from having too much control over its citizens.
This is very important to me because I am Catholic but I am also a Mexica. I take my practice very seriously and I would not want the government to deny me the right to practice my religious views freely. Since my
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I am currently working on my college education in order to get a good job but I also work in a Newspaper factory. I work the same hours as most males and thankfully get paid the same as my male co-workers. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act passed in 2009 gave females a chance to sue their workplace after they have started working if they were being discriminated against due to gender inequality. Why should males earn more if we are doing the same job? Gender does not influence work productivity or my ability to complete a task. This Act has allowed so many females in the workplace as well as myself to earn the same amount of pay as
Civil liberties can be defined as the basic rights and freedoms of an individual granted to citizens in the United States and the entire world through the national common law or the statute law. The liberties include freedom of association, speech, movement, religious worship, and that from arbitrary arrest. The liberties get to form the roots of democracy in a society. In a dictatorial from of administration, the citizens are denied the rights and freedoms. However, liberties can be described as universal rights and freedoms. During the cold war in 1945 to 1953, the civil liberties got faced by many challenges as the citizens of the US faced and lived in a lot of terror.
In order to fully understand what constitutes as a civil liberty the definition of a civil liberty must first be established. A civil liberty is defined as “Those rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, that are so fundamental that they are outside the authority of government to regulate” ( Schiller, Geer, & Segal, 2013). Essentially meaning that a civil liberty is a basic human right that not even government should be able to interfere with it. Quick examples of these rights are freedom of speech, press, religion,etc.
The first Amendment of the United States Constitution says; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”[1] Our fore fathers felt that this statement was plain enough for all to understand, however quite often the United States government deems it necessary to make laws to better define those rights that are stated in the Constitution. Today the framers would be both encouraged and discouraged by our modern interpretation the First Amendment the United States Constitution.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution includes the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. These clauses instruct that legislature shall neither establish an official religion nor unnecessarily restrict the practice of any religion. U.S. Const. amend. I.
Civil Liberties are singular rights shielded by law from crooked legislative or other obstruction. Civil Liberties in the 1970's are altogether different from common freedoms today. A great deal that was disapproved of in those days is the ordinary standard of today. Individuals' perspectives on things have changed drastically, for example, War, gay marriage, drug use and even women’s rights. It's just been 46 years, since 1970 which, when taking a look at the big picture, isn't long ago.
As American citizens we have rights that are protected by the Constitution, but we also have the right to be free. Civil liberties and civil rights sound very similar but effect us in different ways. Civil rights are the right we have to be free and more specifically free from discrimination based on our race, gender or disability while civil liberties are the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution and the Bill of Rights (Civil Liberties). Both mean something different but both are equally important to the function of our society.
Both Civil liberties and rights are not nor represent the same thing. Civil liberties are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation. Civil rights are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment in a number of settings including education, employment, housing, and more. Many interests groups use these terms to support their own campains so that politicians might notice something being violated in the constitution.
The United States has long been respected for the principled thoroughness with which it has upheld the right to freedom of speech embodied in the first amendment to the constitution. We owe part of our own freedom of speech to the Americans who have upheld freedom of speech on the Internet against pressure from other countries who are angry that their citizens can call up forms of speech banned at home. The US consistently refuses to sign international agreements that would infringe the purity of its own constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech.
Civil rights are the rights to personal liberty and are provided by the law. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights promises everybody civil rights. But many people, including lots of black people, have been denied their civil rights. Black people, and also some white people who help them, have struggled for these rights for a long time. Many people have helped and many kinds of groups have been formed to help win equal rights for everyone. Things are a lot better used to be, but the struggle is not over.
The first amendment is the cornerstone of our American society founded years ago by our forefathers. Without the first amendment many ideas, beliefs, and groups could not exist today. The first amendment guaranteed the people of the United States the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of petition. Although the first amendment guarantees us, Americans the freedom of speech, we cannot use it to cause others harm. This amendment has helped shaped Americans into what we are today, because of our right to assemble, speak freely, and worship as we please.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once said “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” In America’s society today, some are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties in order to gain protection and security over some potential threat. Especially after the events of September 11th and several attempted bombings in U.S. cities. This sacrifice of individual freedoms such as the freedom of speech, expression, the right to information, to new technologies, and so forth, for additional protection is more of a loss than a gain. Citizens of the United States deserve equal liberty and safety overall, as someone should not have to give up one value in order to gain another. This concept of individual right goes beyond the simple idea of “individual comfort.” Personal liberties cannot be surrendered and are not to be compromised since these liberties are intangible. Individuals should not have their personal liberties exchanged for national security because individuals are guaranteed protection to these rights.
Throughout American history, our civil liberties as American citizens have evolved immensely. For example, the first ten amendments in the U.S. Constitution are referred to as the “The Bill of Rights,” which contains some of the most cherished civil liberties, such as freedom of speech and religion. These civil liberties however, did not originally apply to state governments or institutions the state established. The Bill of Rights focused solely on what the national government could not do, allowing state governments to do whatever they wanted. For example, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire supported Congregationalist ministers with tax payer dollars for decades. After the Civil War, civil liberties expanded, because three new amendments were added: the Thirteenth, abolishing slavery, the Fourteenth, which redefined civil liberties and rights, and the Fifteenth, which allowed adult, male citizens to vote. The due process clause (contained in the Fourteenth Amendment) became one of the most important civil liberties, because it applied the language of the Fifth Amendment to state governments, proclaiming that they could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law....
The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are “substantially equal”, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.
In the workplace, women do not receive the same benefits that men do. Some women do the same job, for the same amount of hours, and still do not receive the same pay for their work. Is there a specific reason behind this? No, it is just one of the many inequalities that goes on on the job. As pointed out in the essay by Susan Faludi, Blame it on Feminism, women earn less. The average women’s paycheck is twenty percent less than their male counterparts. Men with only high school education’s make more than some women who have graduated college. Most women are still working the traditional “female” jobs: secretaries, teachers, and nurses for example. Construction work, engineering, and doctor’s, are considered “out of our reach” and men’s jobs. Women are very capable of doing these jobs, but most times when applying for a “man’s job” are not taken seriously. American women are more likely not to receive health insurance and twice as likely not to draw pension then American men. They face the biggest gender-biased pay gap in the world.
The first amendment applies to every single citizen in the country, but most of them do not even know what it is about or what it means. The first amendment states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." In other words, the first amendment defends humans' rights to worship-or not worship- who ever they want, their right to express ideas and beliefs, and their right to unite and protest for what they believe right.