Civil liberties

Few sounds invoke the enthusiasm of the Civil Rights Movement as influentially as the civil rights movement melodies that gave a musical backdrop to the campaign for racial equity and fairness around the late 1950s and early 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement was comprised of many deeply inspirational, charismatic speakers and leaders, including the late Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy. Song leaders such as Fannie Lou Hamer, Betty Mae Fikes, the SNCC Freedom Singers,…

In a civil society it is generally understood that people posses the right to many individual freedoms, including the freedom of speech. In liberal democracies these rights are protected by governments through social contract and consent to be governed. A conflict that generally arises with freedom of speech is: how far can freedom of speech go? In many realms of socio-political debate the idea of free speech versus hate speech is often brought to attention. In a liberal democratic society…

The students who belong to the Young American for Liberty chapter were stopped from passing copies of the U.S Constitution. Administrators advise that they were in restricted area when Burch walked up to other students distributing the literature. The restriction comes from the National Security Agency.…

and the ideas produced by it have evolved over time, so has the ideas of liberty and freedom. Intelligent minds continue to debate the topic, and great philosophers of different ages did the same. Take Niccolo Machiavelli, an atheist man whom used satire to criticize the structure of the Republic of Florence in the Italian Renaissance. Machiavelli stood as one who believed that government stood as the mechanism to ensure liberty in some capacity through the involvement of a republic’s people in…

Khyabani Dr. John Shea December 10, 2017 Life, Liberty, and Civil Disobedience One of the most influential political philosophers in history, John Locke believed that all men have the right to life, liberty and property. That men are free, naturally and that no one is subject to a monarch. However people, as part of the social contract, transfer some of their rights to government to better ensure the stable, comfortable enjoyment of their lives, liberty, and property. Locke states however…

Amendment played a crucial role in the epic struggles of the civil rights movement of the 1950 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others engaged in sit-ins, protests, marches to encourage social change.Without the First Amendment, protesters could not have assembled and voiced their work towards the end to segregation laws. Without the First Amendment, the press would not have been able to report what they believed or want to write about on civil rights abuses. Dr. Martin luther King Jr…

the sole source of knowledge. Fundamental principles of liberalism include the right to liberty and property, as well as other civil rights; equality before the law; government's responsibility and transparency of government. While liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others; they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty. The function of the government is reduced to ensure these protections.…

Two Concepts of Liberty, Isaiah Berlin favours negative over positive liberty as it is “the truer and more humane ideal” and argues that positive law threatens individual autonomy by justifying paternalistic coercion. In his work, Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville views liberty as a benefit produced by political life under a free government and posits a conception of positive liberty as political participation. This essay will argue contrary to Berlin, that positive liberty is equally…

What are civil rights? Civil rights are the rights of individuals to receive equal treatment (and to be free from unfair treatment or “discrimination”) in a number of settings—including education, employment, housing, and more—and based on certain legally –protected characteristics. (What are Civil Rights?, 2014) The civil rights movement was an effort to secure equal access to and opportunities on behalf of African Americans for basic privileges and rights of U.S. citizenship. African American…

English philosopher, political economist, and liberal John Stuart Mill published one of his most famous works in 1859: On Liberty. Mill explores the innate and given liberties of people, analyzing what is the extent in which society or government has valid reasons to exercise power over its people. He argues that the individual should not be under the jurisdiction of society or government if their actions are not harming anyone but themselves. The only time society or government should involve…