What Is Individual Freedom - Essay Example

Individual Freedom All human beings have a common responsibility of working towards community growth. Individualeffort is insufficient to achieve life satisfaction (Bellah, 7). According to civic republican and biblical religion in America Freedom is satisfaction of the individuals needs. Rich are independent while poor are “dependent children.” It is unclear of what people should do to achieve complete satisfaction in life. Most human activities focus towards personal development, or towards fulfilling communal obligations. There are some people who feel obliged to take accountability of family members and communal affairs. People should pursue their dreams regardless of what others perceive about it in order to realize full joy in life. Individual autonomy has different meaning to different people. What a person thinks is fine, may be perceived differently by other people. People should pursue their own decency regardless of other people’s opinion. For example, in Bellah (3), Brian believes that personal autonomy is attained when a person is able to accomplish individual dreams. For example, those who want to pursue success in trade, their joy becomes absolute the moment they are able to achieve that vision. Relatives or communal commitment should not hinder a person from achieving his or her life happiness. For example Brian had to put extra effort after he got married in order to sustain his family. He used to burn the midnight oil so that his family could have a decent living. According to him, family commitments made him sacrifice his personal independence. However, autonomy means doing what one desires without limitations (Bellah, 167). Without money Brian could not be able to enjoy nice trips or meet successful people in life. However, Brian later came to realize that he could not achieve full joy in life without family affection. Being able to provide for the family and achieve other essential things in life is a great victory. Regardless of the means used to acquire wealth, being able to provide for the family, such as paying school fees for the children and providing magnificent building, amounts to personal independence. With material possessions, people can do what they want at their own will (Bellah, 21). The dilemma occurs when it comes to gauging the level of achievement attained in a particular moment, and in appraising it with previous success or relating to what others have achieved. However, there is no need to contrast your victory with others, but the most essential consideration is your ability to achieve what you purposed to achieve in life. People should put effort towards helping their families and the society. The success of the community in which individual comes from also determines their victory (Bellah, 8).This is because, individuals and the society are reliant on each other. A person should contribute towards success of the society. In the same way, the community will also influence individual’s victory in one way or the other. Also, taking care of the family makes the person feel esteemed. Similarly, an individual draws happiness from the family and the society. For example, Joe engaged in activities of the society and his pleasure was in helping the public (Bellah, 54). Those organizations which are interested in satisfying the public will always ensure they give back to the community. They will design community activities and ensure they succeed. People who come from successful families or societies feel contented, and such contentment is what makes a person free. However, it is difficult to compare different communities or families to determine which family or society provides better satisfaction than the others. What matters are not comparing oneself with others but to be contented with own situation and work towards improving existing conditions. Those who find fulfillment in their own victory rather than communal tends to be deceitful. They can deprive the community of its resources to enrich themselves (Bellah, 63). However, those who pursue communal victory will use every effort to give their contribution to the society. According to Bellah (14) Margaret views sovereignty as a means of doing what pleases you as long as you can manage to do it. A person should participate in communal activities and try to fulfill personal ambitions. It is important for people to help each other to find joy in their lives. Give your contribution to the community so as to improve the situation but at the same time, you should draw benefit from the society. According to her, it is unnecessary to carry other people’s burdens on your shoulder because they will wear you out. People should do all they can to make your life easy and enjoyable (Bellah, 69). In a way people should be work together for mutual benefit those who are in need should try to seek for assistance from others and should not express their needs. Those who can be able to assist the needy should not hesitate to do so because this helps them to feel contented with their assistance (Bellah,228). Liberty in a person’s life entails breaking away from the bondage of being accountable for others. People should do anything that pleases them as long as it does not hurt other people. According to Bellah (18), liberty involves breaking away from burden of the society or families. People should avoid doing things which the community of the family members expects them to do regardless of whether they like it or not. Engaging in things which are not of your interest to please other people may not make you happy in life. You feel tied up when you fail to do what you think is right for you. Wayne believes that some people are in bondage of others due to stringent rules that limit them from pursuing their course (Bellah, 27). What is import is to promote fairness in the community where all people have right to choose what they want to do with their lives. People should work hard to establish policies which will liberate the entire community to make all the people accountable for their own actions (Bellah, 47). In his view, Wayne believes that it is not important to compare yourself with others because people have different tastes in life and cannot rely on what others believes is excellent. The success of an individual or a nation is dependent on personal judgment. Those who are able to attain their goals will be more contented in life regardless of other people’s perceptions (Bellah, 246). It is worthless to estimate your triumph in relation to those of others because people have different preferences. People should make a personal selection in regard to what they target to achieve in life. However, they should make those decisions which will not cause any harm to other people. Individuals should not let themselves be fixed by their customs, but rather they should hunt their own course of action without interfering with others (Bellah, 234). Without independence of mind, individuals will not be able to make preference of what they really want to achieve and therefore, they will never fulfill intention of life. Autonomy can be attained by promoting fairness in the community so that all individuals can have the same chances to pursue their dreams (Bellah, 25). People should put effort to sustain others and also the society. Achievement should involve the whole community rather than making it a personal issue. For example, Brian was initially interested with his personal achievement and ignored his family and the community. However, he later realized a huge gap in his life (Bellah, 29). Winthrop describes sovereignty as being able to fulfill personal desires. In quest for liberty people should set their personal goals and pursue them accordingly. Regardless of what other people consider as being right, one should disentangle himself or herself from the bondage of traditions and work to achieve their objectives (Bellah, 29). To achieve full autonomy, people should set regulations which will promote fairness in the society for all people to make their own decisions without any objections. All their endeavors should focus on personal as well as communal needs. However, there is no measure of personal contentment and it is futile to compare your victory with others, due to variance of individual or communal needs. Works Cited Bellah, Robert, N., Madsen, Richard. Sullivan, William, M., Swindler, Ann and Tipton, Steven, M. Habit of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. University of California Press, Ltd, London. 2008. 337. Read More