Personal Liberties
Liberty is the free will of an individual to conduct themselves in a manner most appropriate to them, without interference from any other person, body or thing. It can also be said to be the freedom of a person. Liberty is not only concerned with the bill of rights, but the freedoms someone enjoys in their day to day life. “Liberty is another way to say freedoms. What are your freedoms or liberties? Please do not go running off to the Bill of Rights. I mean what your liberties are. Since you all are college students I guess that one of your liberties is access to inexpensive higher education”.
While the world is governed by set rules and codes of behaviour which change with time and place, and whereas morality has its degrees of universality, it is at times necessary for the individual to exercise some freedoms, privileges that are not necessarily common to all, engage in thoughts that are entirely personal, and also get involved in activities that are of personal choice and not in any way influenced by any other party. These are the liberties of a person, the freedoms at individual level.
Liberties that exist in my life include the freedom of thought, the freedom of speech, the freedom of expression, the liberty of interaction, the freedom of residence and that of movement. The liberty to choose, for example, is very significant. The fact that I am free to make choices in my life makes all these other liberties equally important. It would be rather useless having all these liberties but without the freedom of choice.
Liberties are very important to me. This stems from the fact that freedom of choice of thoughts and deeds is, according to me, the greatest privilege that can be accorded a human being. The very basic possibility of being able to nurture a concept in the absence of interference is exciting. The liberty to think, talk, write, go, worship, opine gives me the sense of independence, self-actualization and realization.
Liberty entails being one’s own law maker. With liberty, I am the judge of my deeds and the maker of my rules, hence; this negates the dependence on made rules by the society. For instance, my moral conduct depends on my subjections and objections. Hence I define what’s morally correct and vice versa. “Do I know anything about the range? Why, man, I made a trail drive right through Fort Worth when it wasn’t even a whistle-stop, and I was only nine years old! I learned to ride a hoss on my pap’s stock farm at Cedar Grove, Texas”.
Liberties enable me to think widely on all subjects that I intend to. Without the restraint of beliefs and societal guidance, the freedom of thought helps me in research and judgement. The essence of liberty thus is the advancement of the individual to a more intellectual state.
The past has a great impact on the freedoms enjoyed today. For example, Americans have a different perspective on personal liberties due to the events of September 11. The world war also taught people that they don’t have an absolute control on their rights and liberties since the government would require people to go to war.
On the other hand, factors like ethnicity and race affect the intrinsic rights of an individual. For example, the blacks in America were trumped upon by their slave masters for hundreds of years. They grew up thinking that their liberties were tied to the mercy of their masters. The slaves did not enjoy even private liberties like having a family with absolute control on the destiny of the children
First of all, the freedom of thought ensures development of original ideas and hence I can attain objectivity in judgement. This liberty frees me from overdependence on set theories and ways, by giving me a chance to do something anew. Through thinking freely without interference or direction, I learn to perfect my works and correct mistakes.
Also, freedom of speech and expression ensures that my ideas are put forward hence it nullifies the possibility of being overshadowed. I observe this freedom by making sure I engage in discussions and that I speak my mind. These display the sentiments that I would like to share to others.
I also engage in my liberties through expressing in writing my sentiments and reasons. This is a sufficient way to express oneself as it puts the information to the audience as intended. In entertainment, I listen to music of my choice, be it favourable or not to another person.
With the freedom of movement and residence, I tour places and go to favourite destinations at times of my choice. I, therefore, enjoy the benefits of this freedom at full extent unlike if I was locked or restricted from going to some places.
In conclusion, liberty is an important property of my life and makes life fun and bearable. I exercise it fully so as to enjoy its benefits as it is relieving. As the idiom that one man’s meat is another man’s poison, liberty to the self is a universal way of unearthing the full potential of a person.
