thoughts on freedom

Regarding the "Declaration of Independence", what specific freedoms are being demanded? {remember, the Declaration is a list}. How are these freedoms reflected in the first ten amendments of the constitution? How many of the arguments in the Declaration could be used by the Iraqi people against the United States in the period 2003-2007? {You are being asked here to make connections cross-culturally and historically and think about the relationships of revolution to power, no matter where that occurs; you are not being asked to take a stand on the issue, merely to observe it as an objective scholar}.

Your Answer:

In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson lists grievances against King George. Among his lists of reasons why the colonies were separating from Great Britain were the denial of a trial by jury of peers, freedom from quartering soldiers in private homes, free trade with the world, freedom from standing armies and the right to elect representatives.

When you read the declaration and compare the freedoms the Founders wanted for their country, you will find many of the grievances Jefferson listed in what is known as the Bill of Rights. The Bills Of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. The right to a trial by a jury of peers is found in Amendment 6, the right to be free from quartering soldiers is found in Amendment 3.

I think that many of the grievances that Jefferson lists in the Declaration are valid in many countries today. In Iraq recently, the United States government has violated many of these rights. They have detained many suspected terrorists, and not allowed them a trial by a jury of peers, they have quartered soldiers in many civilian areas, and kept a standing army.

I also think that what happened between the years 2003 and 2007 in Iraq violates the spirit of the declaration. When Jefferson penned the document, a large portion of Americans wanted freedom from Great Britain. They wanted to have their own country. I would say that many Iraqi’s didn’t really want freedom. They didn’t ask us to come in and liberate them.

I am not saying that what we did was a bad thing by liberating Iraq. I am saying that as the lecture we listened to by David Hackett Fischer pointed out that we should not force freedom on others. Each society, each country must want to be free for freedom to last. I would not be surprised if another dictator or a totalitarian government was running Iraq in the near future.

I think helping people obtain freedom is a good thing, but only if you really give them the freedom. The American government did not really free many Iraqi’s. Yes they got rid of the dictator who was oppressing the people. Being free means that you have as little government direction or involvement as possible. The Americans did not allow the Iraqi’s to direct many aspects of their government or economy. This was not truly freedom.