Freedom, is supposed to be the basis upon which the United States of America was founded, a nation in which all beliefs and views are considered in equal measure to each other. Yet are US citizens truly free? According to the ancient Greek city-state Athens, freedom was the privilege of being civically engaged in lawmaking and everyday governance of the community. Athenian citizens would scoff at the idea that freedom is the ability to pursue happiness and pleasures, because to them those pursuits were lazy and could be accomplished by mere slaves and or non-citizens and therefore were trivial in nature. Personally, I agree with the notion that freedom is more than the right to pursue happiness; for in order for there to be an obtainable goal
…show more content…
Now in practice that would have looked something like what is written in the Hesiod, “when judges judge straight, for neighbors as well as for strangers, and never turn their backs...their city blossoms, their people bloom” showing how important fair treatment for all is however that didn’t always happen (Steinberger, p. 11). With citizens who participated in the art of oratory to them, judging was based on who made the better argument instead of what was just or factual which is a similar issue facing the American system today. The US system in which the, few speak for the many, creates trouble between official and constituents. This is only exacerbated by miscommunication caused by long distances, and biases that the few may having, differing from their voters, leading to is a lack of respect of the system as a whole from both parties. Aristotle says that his respect for is others views is due to his thought that “justice had to respect the claims of equality, that a polity had to accommodate diverse claims, not merely those of birth and wealth,” showing how in a just society impartiality is key (Wolin, p. 66). Due to the fact that the US is such a large nation with varying beliefs and views depending on demographics it is hard to locate a person, let alone a politician, who completely impartial, just listening isn’t enough. Due to these issues an important factor is brought to light, who has the right to be involved in public
Now in practice that would have looked something like what is written in the Hesiod, “when judges judge straight, for neighbors as well as for strangers, and never turn their backs...their city blossoms, their people bloom” showing how important fair treatment for all is however that didn’t always happen (Steinberger, p. 11). With citizens who participated in the art of oratory to them, judging was based on who made the better argument instead of what was just or factual which is a similar issue facing the American system today. The US system in which the, few speak for the many, creates trouble between official and constituents. This is only exacerbated by miscommunication caused by long distances, and biases that the few may having, differing from their voters, leading to is a lack of respect of the system as a whole from both parties. Aristotle says that his respect for is others views is due to his thought that “justice had to respect the claims of equality, that a polity had to accommodate diverse claims, not merely those of birth and wealth,” showing how in a just society impartiality is key (Wolin, p. 66). Due to the fact that the US is such a large nation with varying beliefs and views depending on demographics it is hard to locate a person, let alone a politician, who completely impartial, just listening isn’t enough. Due to these issues an important factor is brought to light, who has the right to be involved in public