February 5th, 2020
Laiba Ali
Period 9
Aim: Why is “The Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?
Do Now: 1) How would you explain what your rights are as an individual living in the United States? Why?
2) Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?
To begin class, teams first discussed what they believe their rights are as an individual living in the United States. My team and I agreed that some of our basic, but important rights include freedom of speech and the freedom to do as we please as long as we don’t hurt anyone else. Then, we debated the second question, recognizing that without rights, there would be no individuality and no sense of freedom.
Then, the class discussion began. Mainly, we discussed how important the national laws are, especially freedom of speech. Without freedom of speech, people would be scared to speak up for what they believe in and would be suppressed.
Then, using this excerpt from The Declaration of Independence;
we discussed the following 5 questions in our groups, then as a class:
We began the discussion by talking about “life,” “liberty,” and “the pursuit of happiness,” agreeing that the pursuit of happiness is our right to try and seek fulfillment and joy within our lives. It includes the right to opportunities and the right to be happy. “Life” means the right to live as a person, nothing less, and the promise to be treated as such. Lastly, we agreed that “liberty” includes freedom, such as freedom of speech and expression. Then, we carried the conversation into a slightly darker tone, discussing whether or not we believe the typical person in the United States has these rights. My group and the class brought up good points, such as that not everyone has the means to pursue these rights, although they may have them. An example brought up in my group would be a diabetic citizen. Although they have the right to life, they’d be unable to fulfill that life if they cannot afford their insulin for months on end because of lack of good, affordable healthcare. I had added on in our group that homeless people, for example, have been belittled and discriminated against since the beginning of times. With no help available to them and spikes being installed where they’d normally sleep at night, are they being given the opportunities and aid they are promised by their rights? The conversation was then led into what the United States already does to try to guarantee “equality.” Some examples brought up by Ms. Peterson and the class include scholarships (and the excessive costs of college) and the use of different SAT score cutoffs based on ethnicity. When it was brought up that college is excessively expensive and should be free up to a certain point in order for students to exercise their right to education, scholarships were brought up. Scholarships are a great way for already excelling students to be rewarded for their hard work. However, we agreed that they can be unfair when lack of opportunity comes into play. For example, Ms. Peterson’s foster daughter. Although she was a good student and deserving of an equal chance, she was not given the chance to learn to read until eleven years old. This meant she was so behind everyone else her age that she had to work twice as hard to catch up. As Ms. Peterson said, she’d never be able to achieve as high of a score as a student in this school, not because she wasn’t as smart, but simply because of lack of opportunity. If she had been given the same treatment as any other child, maybe she would have been rewarded with a scholarship. Another example of unfair ways the US has tried to fill in these guarantees would be increasing or decreasing the SAT score cutoff depending on ethnicity. One student called it discriminating against students based on where their parents were born and the class agreed. On the other hand, another student pointed out that our ability to simply say “we don’t have rights anymore” is a right in itself. In other countries, one can be prosecuted for saying such things. It was implied that we have more rights than what meets the eye and we must be more grateful for them. Throughout our discussion, great real-life examples were introduced and refuting points were made about whether or not we believe the typical person in the United States has the rights discussed in the excerpt from The Declaration of Independence.
Reflection:
Today I learned about the rights the United States has promised the American people and the importance of it in our society. By reading the Declaration of Independence and then applying its effects on society to the average American life, I was able to tell how much the Declaration really executed what it promised. Although I do acknowledge that I live a privileged, righteous life, where I have a roof over my head and education under my belt, I also recognize the lack of aid the Declaration provides for people less fortunate than me, who miss opportunities they may have deserved. I think I learned this because in the last few days we have been diving into the idea of equality in our country, and going back to the roots of the country in the Declaration of Independence allows me to finally realize how equal this country really is. I also think I learned this as a way for me to recognize how truly privileged I am to live the life i do, even if sometimes I may not think of it that way. This was truly an eye opener for me. I will use this lesson to be even more grateful for what I have and to recognize the importance of the Declaration of Independence.
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