Civil liberties - Dissertation Example

Civil Liberties Civil liberties are not the same thing as civil rights. Civil rights are the rights of a citizen, but really expand and only deal with that of a political nature. Civil liberties expand throughout all aspects of life. They are much like the natural laws in that you have a right as human being to have free will, moral rights, and liberty. The United States incorporated this into the Constitution as the Bill of Rights. Brought forth by James Madison, the Bill of Rights composes the first ten amendments to the constitution.

The Bill of Rights guarantees such freedoms such as the freedom of speech, freedom of religion, right to bear arms, right to due process, and many more as well as the designation of federal power and state power. These rights were written as a result of what the colonists had to endure under the subjective rule of the monarchy of England. With technological and society development, the United States has come very far since that time. Because the United States has prospered so much, and we as citizens have not had to defend our values and beliefs very much, take for granted many of the rights that we enjoy that countries, such as those in the Middle East, do not have.

As a result, citizens have become complacent in exercising the freedoms that are granted and protected for by our military. One particular group that has been making an impact on trying to be able to exercise their civil liberties is the gay community. Recent strides have lead to them trying to argue the rights of marriage and other rights that are given to heterosexual couples. In conclusion, I do not think that citizens of the United States are as concerned with civil liberties like the original citizens of the colonies were.

That is because we have not really been tested or forced to maintain these rights; we take them as an implied point in life.