According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on August 9 2014 Officer Darren Wilson happened upon Micheal Brown and his friend walking down the street. Within minutes Michael was found dead with a minimum of 7 gunshot wounds from the 12 which were fired. Officer Wilson claims he asked the men to move out from the middle of the road. the men ignored his request. The officer blocked their path with his vehicle, got into an altercation with the men before they attempted to run away. When this happened Officer Wilson went after them. Officer Wilson claims he was body rushed by Mr. Brown and shot him, claiming self defense, before engaging in a hand to hand encounter. From here Mr. Brown broke free from the tussle and started running.
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The United State constitution includes a document called the Bill of Rights. In 1791 Americas founding fathers created 10 Amendments which outline all American rights. Each Amendment outlines rights that every citizen has to their own privacy, security, freedom of speech and further protections. Specifically the 1st Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law… prohibiting… the right go the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”. These rights are protected and recognized under the U.S Bill of Rights and Constitution. The U.S government, therefore, is not lawfully allowed to deny any citizen the right to peacefully assemble and verbally denote their disagreeance with the government or any judicial rulings. What is a democracy without the voice of the people? No one should be punished for promoting what they believe is correct against what they believe is wrong. It is that very fundamental thought process, that very idea that you have the right to free thinking and free speech that has provided a foundation for the democracy we live in. In 1849 Henry David Thoreau, a transcendentalist writer wrote an essay titled Civil Disobedience which emphasized the rights and responsibilities we have as Americans. Thoreau wrote in this essay, “They who assert the purist right, and consequently are most dangerous to a corrupt state” (Thoreau 11). Essentially Thoreau realizes that while people are innately good, they can be easily swayed by the negative opinions of government and society. That is, it is a citizens job to help collectively establish and maintain a just government and society. If the government is neglecting the rights of the people or attempting to suppress those rights, it is the responsibility of the people to act. The people of Ferguson should not have been arrested while protesting
The United State constitution includes a document called the Bill of Rights. In 1791 Americas founding fathers created 10 Amendments which outline all American rights. Each Amendment outlines rights that every citizen has to their own privacy, security, freedom of speech and further protections. Specifically the 1st Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law… prohibiting… the right go the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances”. These rights are protected and recognized under the U.S Bill of Rights and Constitution. The U.S government, therefore, is not lawfully allowed to deny any citizen the right to peacefully assemble and verbally denote their disagreeance with the government or any judicial rulings. What is a democracy without the voice of the people? No one should be punished for promoting what they believe is correct against what they believe is wrong. It is that very fundamental thought process, that very idea that you have the right to free thinking and free speech that has provided a foundation for the democracy we live in. In 1849 Henry David Thoreau, a transcendentalist writer wrote an essay titled Civil Disobedience which emphasized the rights and responsibilities we have as Americans. Thoreau wrote in this essay, “They who assert the purist right, and consequently are most dangerous to a corrupt state” (Thoreau 11). Essentially Thoreau realizes that while people are innately good, they can be easily swayed by the negative opinions of government and society. That is, it is a citizens job to help collectively establish and maintain a just government and society. If the government is neglecting the rights of the people or attempting to suppress those rights, it is the responsibility of the people to act. The people of Ferguson should not have been arrested while protesting