And respect for everyone resolves these issues. I am so proud of my brothers and sisters who are peacefully demonstrating the message that all lives matter. Equality, justice, unity, love, and respect for all must be present today — and must exist for all future generations. When we reach this level of equality, justice, unity, love, and respect, we will have achieved freedom. Woodland resident and frequent Columbian letter writer.
Our free will is everything. Lately, however, anarchists are allowed to rule. Politicians, both left and right, just stand and watch these radicals destroy history, pillage and burn businesses. We all have sin. But, to make this all work for the human race, we must possess forgiveness as well, and a little love.
I pray it is not our last. Clark County First Citizen T he American ideal of freedom is being able to speak freely without persecution, being able to express yourself, live and love freely and without fear.
But as an American, I know that I have the freedom to say what I want, bel ieve what I choose, and vote for whomever and whatever I think is best. In some ways it seems like freedom is losing these days. It may seem like freedom is being threatened in America, but in reality, freedom is on the move. The uprise of movements to call for a fundamental change in judicial, political and economic systems, the right to health care, safe affordable housing, clean air and water, self-expression and dignity demonstrate the American ideal of freedom.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra executive director. A s I reflect on the idea of freedom, I am overwhelmed by gratitude for the opportunities that were bestowed upon me in my life. I was born in Ukraine, and have been fortunate enough to experience various cultures and customs while spending time in different parts of the world.
I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the fall of the Iron Curtain, the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.
It was an incredible experience to see how people from all over the world came together to communicate and cooperate in spite of speaking different languages and having different backgrounds. As borders opened, a tremendously powerful force of creativity and collaboration was unleashed that allowed people to join forces in scientific, cultural and artistic endeavors. It is my hope that in the aftermath of current tragic and challenging events we can all join our efforts and collectively find a path to a better and brighter future.
Living legally married to her wife in downtown Vancouver. In , my now wife and I knocked on doors and begged strangers to fill in a bubble on a mail-in ballot that would let us be legally married. While many Americans gripe about the limitations put on us by our government, there are actually a wealth of freedoms we enjoy on a daily basis without even realizing it.
From what you wear to how you parent your kids, it's time to stop taking these American freedoms for granted. And when you want to know more about the U. Do you think Firecracker is the perfect name for your bundle of joy? Does Star Spangled Banner Jones have a nice ring to it? In America, you're welcome to name your new addition virtually anything you can think of and face no repercussions other than enduring the occasional eye roll from other parents at the park. Think everyone has the same freedom?
If you're arrested for a crime in America, that doesn't mean you should necessarily start preparing for your new life in prison. In the U. In countries like South Africa, you'd just get the judge, but no jury to decide your fate. If you and your partner are two consenting adults of sound mind, you're welcome to get married in the United States.
It doesn't matter if you're straight, LGBTQ, one of you is 50 years older, one of you is broke and the other is rich; as long as you're entering into the marriage willingly and are at least 18—or younger with your parents' consent—you're free to tie the knot. In countries like Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and Greece, you can enter into a civil union, but still can't get married if you're a same-sex couple.
And if you want to make your relationship last forever, check out the 50 Best Marriage Tips of All Time. Want to wear a crop top on public transportation? Want to wear a mermaid tail everywhere you go? If you're not violating any laws about public decency or wearing clothing intended to incite violence, you're free to choose the clothes that look and feel good to you.
And if you want to know what can get you in serious trouble, check out the 40 Craziest Small Town Laws in America. No matter your gender or race in the United States, you're deemed an equal in the eyes of the government. This not only means that, with the exception of certain felons, you're entitled to vote in elections, but it also means you can't be legally be paid less for doing the same job which is something that many countries in the world don't even claim. While women in the United States still regularly find themselves making less money than comparable male counterparts, if an American woman discovers her employer is knowingly committing wage discrimination, she does have legal recourse.
While we often lament the public education system in America, it's pretty amazing that every American can enjoy a free education until the age of The First Amendment is for everyone. The First Amendment prevents government from requiring you to say something you don't want to, or keeping you from hearing or reading the words of others even if you never speak out yourself, you have the right to receive information.
First Amendment Encyclopedia A comprehensive research compilation covering all aspects of First Amendment law. Want to support the Free Speech Center?
Donate Now. What it assuredly would not mean, at least not in the first instance, is a recovery of the American economy, as measured in GDP, average income, or some other indicator.
While a certain measure of material security surely is a basic social precondition of stable republican government, a high level of material affluence can actually pose a threat to civic virtue, because it attracts too much popular energy into the making of money and the pursuit of luxury. The best foundation for republican government has always been a large and frugal middle class. And one of the surest ways to undermine such a government is to sow greed and envy among the citizens, which is how many Americans now make their living.
Similarly, while most republican theorists have also been geopolitical realists, they have typically seen imperialism as a mortal threat to republicanism. Economic prosperity and military strength have not usually been seen as the key indicators of civic health.
Rather, republican theorists have emphasized public spiritedness and political participation. In some cases, their reach might extend into the economy itself, or at least those segments of it that have collegial governance structures that foster collective deliberation e.
Another measure of civic health might be the density and accessibility of public spaces, modern-day forums where citizens can meet and deliberate. As scholars of political life have long known, public deliberation often occurs in private spaces, such as coffeehouses, bars, and, nowadays, even fast-food restaurants. Likewise, the advent of social media means that public spaces need not be physical places in the traditional sense.
At the same time, the commercialization and securitization of physical and virtual spaces must be regarded as a serious threat to civic health, as when shopping malls replace town squares, gated communities replace traditional townships, or media companies attack net neutrality in an effort to monetize the Web.
For many today, the American dream is nothing more than property and prosperity. A renewal of the republic would put freedom and equality back into that dream. Some will refuse on principle. Radical secularists will be too jealous of their individual autonomy to commit to anything and will caricature the righteous republic as a form of theocratic oppression.
Enlightenment fundamentalists will insist that science has all the answers and will not deign to enter into dialogue with the great unwashed. Nothing much can be expected of these groups.
Others will refuse out of self-interest. There are many who profit from our polarization. The richest rewards accrue to the political performance artists who populate cable news and AM radio and those who hire them.
These individuals use broadcast media to turn anger and invective into paychecks and ad buys. The smaller profits accrue to the partisan trolls who inhabit the nether reaches of the blogosphere. They use social media to turn their personal frustration into fleeting feelings of self-righteousness and moral superiority.
And, of course, there are profits, too, for the partisan demagogues who ride this tidal wave of mutual recrimination into elected office or, failing that, into speaking tours, book contracts, and television shows. Nothing can be expected from any of them either. Or, in positive terms, those of us who are committed enough to the dream of the righteous republic to talk and maybe even walk across the deep trenches that were dug during the culture wars.
Rebuilding the vital center will not be easy. But it is imperative. Our constitutional system cannot function without a vital center. It is not a winner-take-all system, such as Great Britain has. It protects the rights of the minority. It allows for divided government. It establishes a system of judicial review.
In a word, it requires compromise. The vital center must be rebuilt from within civil society. Our party system is a hostile environment for the vital center. Its first-past-the-post rules, in which there is no second prize, encourages candidates to pull out all the stops—rhetorical, ideological, financial, and even legal—in a no-holds-barred effort to win. There is a deep tension between our constitutional and electoral systems. This is why we cannot rely on professional politicians to do the job.
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