Yingping Zhang
February 16, 2002
Reading/Writing IVB
According to Webster's dictionary, the word "freedom" means "Having
liberty and independence". Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are
often considered "unalienable rights" in a society, where freedom
plays a very important role. To love freedom is a tendency which human beings
are born with. From the West to the East, people have never stopped struggling
for their freedom. From ancient time to current time, countless stories, legends
and poems about the heroes who gave their lives to fight for people's liberty
have spread from mouth to mouth. It is because people aspire to freedom that
all societies in the world have developed greatly. People have never stopped
and will never stop trying their best to search for real freedom, especially
for freedom of speech, behavioral freedom and political freedom.
Freedom of speech means everyone has the right to freely express his opinion by speech, writing and pictures. It also means guaranteed freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by broadcast and films. In theory, freedom of speech should be a basic right for people to have. But in fact, it is very difficult for people to attain this right. It is well known that freedom of speech is very helpful for people to learn the truth about what has happened in the world and what the government has done, and usually it can cause intense effect on people's thought and life. Therefore anyone of autocratic governments has never allowed their people to have the right of freedom of speech. Thirty years ago, Chinese people had suffered a lot of restriction against freedom of speech. At that time, the people had no right to speak out about their own views, and all of the media, including radio, newspapers, magazines, movie houses, theaters and etc, were taken over by the government, which were used to "re-educate" the Chinese people. All editors and journalists were the servants of the government. They were only allowed to say what the government told them so that the government could easily control the country. In the 1970's, new Chinese government began its own democracy reform, and a free-media system began in China. Since then, China has experienced a lot of difficult times in instituting their own forms of democracy with occasional setbacks, and it has already acquired great achievement with the help of freedom of speech. Taking one with another, freedom of speech has played a key role throughout the developed history of humankind.
Behavioral freedom means everyone has the right to do what one wants to do, if it does not break the laws. In a sense, behavioral freedom is equal to human rights, and it is based on the laws constituted by the government. Therefore, if the government is in behalf of the people, then the laws they make will protect people's behavioral freedom. Otherwise, the laws will limit or even bereave people's human rights. But real behavioral freedom must be based on a credible safety of life. This means that sometimes people have to sacrifice some behavioral freedom to exchange security. For example, Americans have to tolerate the strict checking system in airfields to insure their safety, and it is worth them to do so. Behavioral freedom also means people have the right to protect themselves and have the right to choose their own life styles, which includes that everyone can have a free belief for religion, each adult person is a sovereign citizen and no one can control the other's action without their permission. The key point for behavioral freedom is to balance the contradiction between human rights and security.
Political freedom is the basis of behavioral freedom and freedom of speech. Only in a society with political freedom, do people have the right to vote for the leader of the government so that the government has to represent the interest of the people. In this kind of society, people have the right to contribute their own opinions in many fields, from strictly personal relations to international economics, from law to morality, in art as well as in science, and it makes people feel that they belong to the earth and have freedom. Generally, the goal of political freedom is to protect the human rights of freedom and help people make progress in their lives. One person's positive right to freedom can be respected and protected only if political freedom exists.
Freedom of speech, behavioral freedom and political freedom are the most important components of freedom. Freedom is one of the holiest things in people's lives. The more people have freedom, the more beautiful the world will be. By seeking real freedom and democracy, human beings have already encountered and will continue to encounter massive setbacks, but they will never give up. It is time to integrate all power of whole human beings to create a free kingdom. It is time to declare personal independence to the world. Let's embrace the freedom and Be Free!