75230H

Freedom With Responsibility: The Foundation of Society That Exists

Within the United States Government & Rock Bridge High School
Eleanor Roosevelt once said freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being.
With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who
does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening concept. There could not have been
a more accurate description of the consequences of freedom with responsibility. Freedom,
according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means to be free of constraints, and the
definition of responsibility is to have liability for ones own actions. Everybody seeks out
independence and freedom, starting from when they are young children, when they say to their
parents, Why cant I do thiswhy cant I do that? I am my own person! I have freedom! I am
independent! You cant tell me what to do! However, with every freedom one gains, the more
responsibility they gain as well. Perhaps the aforementioned child was unable to eat the amount
of ice cream that they desired. Then, after they become a bit older, they are able to make their
own decisions about the portion of ice cream they consume. With this newfound freedom, the
child must also be aware that he must take the blame for his own actions. If he were to become
overweight due to consuming an obscene amount of ice cream each day, then that is his own
fault, as that was a consequence of his actions. The child must be liable for his every action.
This concept is the basis of society. It forms the framework of any and every place
multiple people gather. In a family, the parents give their children the freedom to stay in their
rooms alone, but are trusting them to do the right things and to accept the consequences of their
actions, even if their actions occur behind closed doors. In schools, such as Rock Bridge High
School, students are given the freedom to roam the building without hall passes or to leave the
building during AUT alternating unassigned time. But, for them to have these freedoms, they

must also accept the responsibilities associated with them, which include returning to school and
attending classes when they are supposed to. It builds the government, which dictate the people
of the society are free to do whatever they so please as long as they are responsible with such
freedoms (they dont break laws, etc.). All just rules, laws, and ideals that a society forms stem
from the ideals of freedom with responsibility. Due to this, Rock Bridge High School and the
U.S. government have both similarly struggled through their efforts to create a society with an
equilibrium of freedom and responsibility. This has allowed the two drastically different entities
to become fundamentally similar at the very core of their existence.
An example of this is shown in the 1st Amendment of the Bill of Rights, which reads as
follows: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of press; or the people to peaceably
assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Two key points in this
amendment are the freedom of speech and the [freedom] of press. Within the society of the
United States of America, people are free to express their feelings with words, and are free to use
various newspapers, television news channels, magazines, and online sites to express their
feelings or to broadcast uncensored information. Similarly, students at Rock Bridge High School
are granted the same rights within the society of the school. There is the school newspaper, The
Rock, which allows journalism students to express their feelings and spread information
throughout the school. It also includes honest feelings from other students from interviews and
the like. Also, the schools Twitter accounts allows students to utilize the web to express their
feelings and to share information. The Student Coalition, which is not only a presentation of the
freedoms of speech and press, but also those freedoms of the people to peaceable assemble and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, allows the students to gather together

and discuss ways to make the school better. Students are able to express and share their feelings
about the school and discuss and petition for ways to improve on the school.
Another example of the similar cores of freedom with responsibility that exists within
both the United States government and Rock Bridge High School is that citizens of either society
are free to make organizations (clubs in the case of the students, and businesses or corporations
in the case of the people) about whatever may interest them. The United States runs on a
capitalistic system, meaning that the people make and control the majority of the businesses and
corporations. Similarly, in Rock Bridge High School, many of the clubs are student-run. The
administration and faculty (or government, in the case of the United States as a whole) is trusting
that the students (or citizens) will maintain their club (or business/corporation) without causing
destruction or havoc. Students are able to make whatever club they want they may choose to
make a technology club, or an anime club, or a guitar club. Likewise, entrepreneurs are free to
make whatever business they want, including obscure ideas such as manufacturing special Apple
device cases, or selling cupcakes in a vending machine. Whatever strange or interesting idea that
a citizen or student thinks of, they can create a business or club for it. This freedom to do
whatever interests them, but with the acceptance of the responsibility that there will be
consequences if they partake in inappropriate or illegal activities during such club or business
activities, presents and compares the existence of freedom with responsibility within the
United States government capitalistic system and Rock Bridge High School.
Also, in order to advertise themselves, both businesses and clubs must use some form of
propaganda; otherwise there would be no customers or club members. Advertisements used
from either party would likely follow similar concepts, utilizing methods such as glittering
generalities, transfer, plain folks, bandwagon, testimonial, and name-calling. At the same time,

the U.S. government and RBHS administration give their citizens the freedom to place any
advertisements anywhere they so desire, as long as they accept the responsibilities to ensure that
they are appropriate, inoffensive, and follow certain regulations. If they do not accept these
responsibilities, the government and RBHS administration reserve the right to remove the
advertisements, and the business or club leaders must accept these consequences of their
irresponsibility.
In addition, both the United States government and Rock Bridge High School follow
Thomas Hobbess ideals of classical republicanism, which is shown in certain measures of
security that may violate the rights of or inconvenience the people, but are necessary in order to
protect the commonwealth. In Rock Bridge, they recently implemented swipe card and buzz-in
systems that make it so that people cannot simply come and go from the school, which helps to
protect it from shootings, and other such violent events. In the United States, the Transport
Security Agency (hereafter referred to as TSA) branch of the government is allowed to search the
peoples luggage and person before such a person boards a plane. This also occurs in some large
or important buildings, such as the Supreme Court or the White House. Although these actions
may seem to violate ones right to privacy, but are necessary in order to protect the common
people.
Also, the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which reads the right of the people to
be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported
by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized, is shown not only in the U.S. government, but also in Rock Bridge. In the
general public, the police cannot simply barge into ones property and seize their property

without having just cause or a warrant. Likewise, the Rock Bridge administration cannot seize
and search their students property without probable cause (i.e.: they are carrying a weapon with
them). In both of these societies, the government, or administration, is providing its people
with their trust, granting them the freedoms to privacy. If the people take advantage of that
freedom and use it to harm others or commit crimes, then they must take liability for those
actions.
Another topic that affects both the U.S. government and Rock Bridge High School is the
issue of autonomy. Students are able to choose their own classes (to some extent), and the
people are allowed to choose their own career. Many people will choose their classes or career
paths based on their own interest in the subject, and will likely select them with their own selfinterest in mind. Students selecting AP or honors classes may be choosing it so that they can
fulfill their own goal of attending college and becoming whom they had always wanted to
become. Or, students may choose an easier class because they know that they wouldnt be able
to keep up in an Honors or AP class, and wish to maintain a 4.0 GPA. Or, they may choose an
easily passable class so that they can slack off in that class. Whatever the motivation, they
always have their own desires and interests in mind as they select those classes. Likewise, adults
choose a career path with their own, individual self-interests in mind. Perhaps they chose a
certain career path because they wish to earn money and advance to a higher place in society.
Perhaps they select a career path because they have a strong passion about that topic. The
motivations behind their decisions express the famous words of the Declaration of Independence,
and we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men were created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of Happiness. Every person in both the schools and in the United States have an

equal opportunity to education and to job opportunities. They are all capable of pursuing their
own interests and passions in order to achieve happiness. These are the freedoms given to them,
but they must accept the consequences of not taking those opportunities, or utilizing their equal
opportunity to advance in life. Those consequences represent the responsibilities that one must
accept along with the freedoms granted to them.
As previously expressed, for every action, there is a consequence. This may seem to
common sense something that one might tell a child when they are telling them to responsible
for their actions. However, this concept applies to everything in life school, work, government,
and society. If a student breaks the rules within a school, they will be sent to the principals
office, and some of their privileges may be taken away. If a citizen of a nation goes against the
laws that a government established, they may suffer fines or be imprisoned. If a person says
hurtful things to a friend, they may lose their friendship. The freedoms granted to a person will
always be accompanied by responsibilities, which outline the consequences of ones actions if
they were to take advantage of said freedoms. This ideal is the very essence of society it lay
the foundation for every known society, for every known written law, for every known business,
or school. It existed in Mesopotamia, in Greece, in Rome, in Chinaand it still exists now. It is
present in Rock Bridge High School and the United States government, whom had both persisted
in their efforts to create societies in which a harmony between freedom and responsibility
existed. This has allowed two seemingly antipodal entities to be so fundamentally identical
when one analyzes the very heart of their existence.