by Nick Norton

Created on: April 21, 2009

Throughout the course of history humans have gained a certain number of inalienable rights that any self sufficient government should protect and maintain. To name a few of these rights: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, the ability to elect representatives into their governing body, and the right to ethnic and gender equality. Not to mention the right for legal representation in court.

As we have progressed through history, we have learned that no one likes to be stifled. Whether that be stifled in the sense that a person would have to remain silent, even if they wish to speak out. Or stifled in the sense that a person cannot choose which religious practice they wish to partake in. Since we as humans are equal beings, it is our government's responsibility to make sure we have the right to choose when we want to speak, and which religion we believe in. Humans were given free will for a reason; and it is reprehensible for a government to regulate our words and religious practices.

Even if governments have constitutions that guarantee that rights such as the right to freedom of speech will be upheld, like the United Stated does, the people of a nation have a right to elect representatives to make sure these rights are protected. In history there have been many promises in constitutions that have been broken for merely being an inconvenience to the government head. If a country is at war, it would prefer that people remain supportive of the war for morale purposes. If a person speaks out against the war, they are breaking morale, and could be found a traitor, if the government officials deem so. That is one of the reasons why it is imperative that people get the right to choose elected representatives in governing bodies, because otherwise a government can say people have the freedom of speech as long as they like what is being said. And likewise a person deserves protection in court as well, from a trained professional in the law, or an attorney.

If an elected representative cannot protect people's civil liberties they should also have the right to protest. People shouldn't have to sit back and accept an unjust situation, protest must be an option. That is not to say vigilantism should be allowed, but a people have every right to peacefully protest any situation they deem unjust.

And one of humans' most basic rights: equality. As all humans do not like to stifled, no human likes to be pushed aside as a second class citizen. We as people are all equal, man, woman, gay, straight, bi, black, white and Asian. No matter our differences we are all still people and our government should make sure that we are treated as such.

In conclusion, human have ascertained basic inalienable rights over the years. The ones listed above, are the most basic ones, which are people's basic rights along with basic safety precautions to protect those rights. And governments around the world need to start examining themselves to see if they live up to these standards.

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