Aim: “Why is ‘The Declaration of Independence’ symbolized as a valuable document for our society?”
The class started off today’s lesson by discussing the answer to the following question: “Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?”
My partner and I thought that if people had no rights, there would be no progression and no motivation to improve. My class thought that individual rights protected people and ensured that no one got violated. It sets a standard of respect and fairness for everyone. Furthermore, individual rights would ensure that the government wouldn’t have complete control over the people’s lives, and that everyone would have a voice that can impact the society they live in.
Next, the class read and analyzed a portion of the text, “The Declaration of Independence.”
The phrase, “all men are created equal,” stood out to us. We concluded that “all men” only actually refers to rich, white men. There was no way that African Americans or women were taken into consideration when such a document was written.
The phrase, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” stood out to us, too. Life refers to the right to live and simply exist. Liberty refers to the right to be free. Lastly, pursuit of happiness is the right to pursue one’s dreams, goals, and aspirations. However, you can’t infringe on someone else’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to satisfy your own. Whatever you do must be within reason, it must have limitations.
After that, we discussed whether or not the typical person in the United States today has these rights, and concluded that it really depends on that individual’s condition or situation. E.g. There are people out there who don’t even have the right to life due to terminal illnesses contracted at birth. Now, let’s say that person is dirt poor, has no healthcare, has no money, and therefore no medication. How are they supposed to live when they are in this kind of situation?
Following that, the class tried to identify the various ways the United States has tried to guarantee “equality” for all. We brought up the topic of education. Everyone is given a free and public education from Grades 1 through 12. After that, financial aid is provided for those who wish to further their education but may not be able to afford to do so. This guarantees equality, but only to an extent, because there are in fact limitations. You can’t help everyone, it’s just not possible.
Reflection:
What did I learn? Today, I learned that although society has tried and is still trying to achieve equality, we are still far from it, because of an unfortunate thing called limitations. I realized that as much as we want equality, as amazing as it sounds, it may not be possible for a really long time. The discussion we had on healthcare and education helped me realize how corrupt and inconsiderate the government is. Why are people being denied the right to live or the right to learn? Who gets to decide whether or not someone is qualified to get the help they need?
Why did I learn it? I learned about such topics today because of its relevance to present-day society. There are a lot of problems in our world, and we have to be able to recognize these problems if we want to initiate change.
How will I use what I learned? I will keep in mind our discussions about equality, limitations, and fairness as we continue to learn about various fictional utopian societies and the things that people do to crawl out of such societies. Not only that, but I can use this newfound knowledge to help me recognize more problems in our society, to help me become more mindful, aware, and thoughtful about what’s going on in our world.
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