Chris Nielsen

Ethics and Morals

4/19/16
Freedom
Freedom is what men sacrifice for. Freedom causes men to rebel and start revolutions,
donate everything they have to the war effort. It brings people together like very few things can.
However, more and more freedom in America is being attacked and in turn removed. It is up to
us to stop this cancerous behavior from happening in the land of the free, home of the brave.
Something that makes America so incredible is that it was built on freedom values. We
fought for freedom and instead of putting another person of power, like the monarchy we fought
to leave in office, we created a real living breathing republic. The difference between a
democracy and a republic is that in a republic the people elect representatives into office who
then vote on issues. This speeds the process up and doesnt slow everything down once an
election comes up. With the bill of rights and our constitution, every citizen enjoys vast freedoms
and liberties others only dream about. However the founding fathers were incredibly smart and
realized that the world is moving fast and there will be new issues that come up. They put in
place a system of amendments that when something new is voted in, it becomes law, hence the
living breathing. Its always changing and as new ideas and interests surface it will find out
whats American and add those.
What makes America great? Many will say its the freedom to say and do what you want.
Many others say its the second amendment so you can keep a tyrannical government in place.
Many others say its the power of the press and the freedom that it has. I believe its a

combination of all three. What makes America great is people are free to do what they wish. The
press and second amendment keep the government and corruption in check and the basic human
rights are second to none.
The first amendment reads 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. We will break this down bit by bit as I feel it is the most important of all
the amendments.
Being able to establish and practice whatever religion you want was a revolutionary idea.
In many countries still to this day there is a state religion and you cannot fall away. Old Europe
at the time the states were banning together were dominated by the Catholic Church and their
influence was massive. The founding fathers wanted to get away from it and established an idea
of the separation of church and state. Many people take this as there should not be any god in any
government but that is wrong. In god we trust is on our money, one nation under God is in
our pledge of allegiance. We are a god loving country and in a recent Gallup poll over 86% of
Americans believe in a higher power. However we do not have a national church. Everyone is
free to practice any religion they wish as long as it fits our countries other rights.
The freedom of speech is the ability to say what you feel and not feel threatened or
endangered by the government. There still to this day there are many countries where you cannot
speak out against the government. North Korea and China are the most talked about in the media
but there are many more. The first way to oppress people who dont want to be ruled is take
away their rights to say what they want by replacing freedom with fear. Technically you can still
say whatever you want no one can control your thoughts but you will pay dearly for those ideas.

The right to peacefully assemble is another thing all together. It goes hand in hand with
religion as it makes it legal and protected to gather to worship the protected religion but it is
broader than that. It allows you to peacefully protest, express your feelings about topics with
your body not just your words and actions can speak much louder than words. This has been
under fire a lot lately as there have been a lot of protests. The police have a hard time controlling
peaceful ones but soon they get out of hand and it gets dangerous and even deadly extremely
quickly. Peaceful is really up to the eye of the beholder and a peaceful sit in can turn to a full
scale riot very quickly. The Ferguson Missouri riots are a great example of this. I dont want to
get into the backstory but it was racially fueled. The peaceful protests soon escaladed as most
massive protests do. The strength in numbers or Gang Mentality as the Lord of the Flies
goes into came into full effect. When people are in a group and feel faceless, just part of the gang
people will do stuff they would never ever do if they are alone. Soon the protests are police
clashed and full scale riot police were called. Numerous buildings were looted and burned and
over 320 people were arrested. The critics of how the police reacted to the protests say that it
was their overreaction and their fight to break it up that caused the massive damage and riot. The
police on the other hand say they were just trying to keep it peaceful but could not contain it and
had to use force as it was getting worse.
Were the protesters allowed to peacefully protest? Absolutely. Were the protesters
allowed to loot and attack officers and police? Absolutely not. This is just one part of the first
amendment that has been in the spotlight because it is so touchy. Critics of the right to peacefully
assemble say that big angry protests almost always turn violent, and it is a danger to the
surrounding people and police. Defenders of it say it is necessary because if you cannot protest

then that is taking away one of the most important parts of the first amendment, and in turn is
removing freedom from America.
Petitioning the government is a much quieter way of protesting. Civilians are showing
they are upset about something but can stay in the privacy of their own home. If you get 100,000
signatures in 30 days you will get a response from the white house. The system is in place so the
people can request changes and show new ideas but can be extremely civil and no one has to get
hurt.
The second amendment reads "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of
a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
The reason for having a well-regulated militia is because the founding fathers were
terrified that all of their blood, sweat and tears would crumble under a corrupt government.
Power and money corrupt and even though they arent a king of a dictator there are many
Senators and Congressmen who are extremely corrupt. The Militia makes it acceptable to have
weapons and train so a tyrannical dictatorship cannot be established. Of all the first and second
amendment rights this one is the touchiest. What makes a group of armed angry men different
from a protected militia? What makes a stand against tyranny different from a group of
anarchists with guns? This part of the Second amendment is very hard to interpret and has been
taken to the Supreme Court numerous times.
Gun control has been in the spotlight for years, but more than ever it is under discussion.
Anti-gun people claim no one needs a gun because thats what the police and military are here
for. Guns just kill innocent people and if we cracked down, mass shootings would plummet and
everyone would be better off. The Pro-gun argument is that is exactly why we need guns. The

first thing every dictatorship did was remove the guns and instill fear of rebelling or talking bad
against the government. Talking bad about something or someone and then shooting someone
are two completely different things.
Growing up in Chicago has made me extremely pro guns. Gun control does not work and
removing them only hurts innocent people. 170 people have already been killed in Chicago this
year alone, the highest in over 20 years. The most ironic part about this is that Chicago has some
of the strictest laws in the country. Somehow the guns are getting to criminals and no matter how
many laws they pass people are still being murdered. Data from 2008 in Chicago shows that 81%
of homicides used a firearm and 91% of homicide offenders had a prior arrest record. It is illegal
for a felon to purchase a firearm. How are they getting the guns and why are they so easy to get?
In a 1992 interview, a Gang member said like going through the drive-through window. Give
me some fries, a coke and a 9 millimeter. With demand comes supply and since there is such a
high demand a huge underground market is present. People will legally buy a gun, alter it and
sell it for 3-5 times the retail price on the street. This strategy is easy money and untraceable.
One myth that people who are against guns love to say is that guns are easy to buy from
gun stores and need more restrictions. The Cook country prison is one of the most violent and
dangerous Prisons in the country. It is in Cook country Illinois and takes many of Chicagos
hardened criminals. Philip Cook of Duke University and colleagues Susan Parker and Harold
Pollack of the University of Chicago interviewed 99 inmates. 70 out 99 inmates had a firearm,
but only 2.9 percent had purchased it from a gun store. The demand is there but if it cant be
filled from a store people will find a way. Its simple supply and demand.
Ultimately people are going to do what they want to do. The answer is education, not
taking away rights. Teach them violence brings nothing but heartache and pain. Teach them to be

nicer to each other instead of going after freedom of speech. By removing rights we are taking
away what is American about the United States of America. The freedom to choose and live the
life we want. If we cant say what we want, worship who we want or show we are angry without
fear of the government what makes us free? It is up to us to change that and push for our rights
provided by the Constitution. Not allow people take them away so easily. It is up to us to keep
America beautiful, free and the amazing place it is for generations to come.

Bibliography
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Gregg Lee Carter,. Guns in American society: an encyclopedia of history, politics, culture, and
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Halbrook, Stephen P. (1998). Freedmen, the 14th Amendment, and the Right to Bear Arms, 18661876. Greenwood Publishing Group.

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