Appreciating our rights in American democracy
By Wanda Kember
IV Leader Staff, Oct. 19, 2006
We as Americans take our freedoms for granted, forgetting
about all the people who came before us and fought for the liberties we have
today. The right of every American to be treated equal, to have a voice in our
democracy, to be our own person, to choose our own path in life, and even the
most basic of all rights, to just simply be free.
How easily we forget that a long, bloody war had to be fought
to end human slavery. No one has the right to own another human being. It is
said that all men are created equal, but was that statement really true when it
was written down and declared to be so? The answer is no.
It was only white men who were given rights in this country,
if you were of any other color, descent, or sex you had no rights at all and you
defiantly were not equal. It was only after fighting the civil war that black
men not only had their freedom, but were given the right to participate in
democracy.
Those of different races were not the only ones to be
politically oppressed. It really wasn’t so long ago that women were simply seen
as the property of the men in their lives, be it there fathers or husbands.
Women were given no respect, simply expected to be quiet, listen carefully, and
always do what they were told.
As hard as it may seem to believe, it was once thought that
women were ill-equipped and unfit to participate in politics. Women were not
seen as an equal to a man and therefore should not expect equal treatment or
protection under the law when it came to jobs, physical safety, property
ownership, child custody should there be a divorce, or a voice in the political
process.
In 1837 a young teacher named Susan B. Anthony asked for
equal pay for women teachers. Ms. Anthony was also responsible for initiating a
women’s right movement that encouraged women to register to vote, using the
Fourteenth Amendment as justification. There were many years of struggles and
losses, but in 1913, the women of Illinois were given the vote in most
elections.
Seven years later, women throughout the nation were allowed
the right to vote. The fight continues today for equality in all aspects of our
lives including equal access to jobs, education, housing, government programs,
as well as protections afforded by our government regardless of a person’s race,
religion, gender, or disability.
Today our fights are different, but they are still as
important. It is easy to say that slavery should never have happened, and that
women should have always had the right to vote as well as be independent of a
man, but that’s not how the country thought at the time.
It takes the courage and conviction of the people who are
willing to lay it all on the line to make a difference. Our country is always
changing and growing and sometimes change is scary but necessary. Equality is
for all persons, not just those who are like us or who share our same beliefs.
Today there are those who feel that there are others who do
not deserve to have the same rights as everyone else, groups such as the
disabled, and homosexuals.
These groups have a long hard fight ahead just as those
before them, but with time comes change; however, that change does not and will
not happen on its own, it must be fought for just as it was in the past.
So here’s a thought, this November we have a chance to
exercise our right to have a voice, to have the governing body reflect our views
and wants.
Voting is an essential part of our democracy and it is
something that has been fought hard for. If you no longer had the right to vote,
to have a say in who runs the government under which you live, there would be an
uproar about your rights as a United States Citizen, but the fact is that if you
choose not to vote, it is as if you don’t care about that right at all.
It may only be one vote, but it is that one vote that can
make a difference. The government we elect makes and uphold the laws in this
country, so if you don’t like how things are then help make a change.
The first step is to vote and encourage others to vote as
well, because if you don’t vote then you can’t complain. Second, get involved,
if there is something you believe in either for or against, it takes people to
make a difference so be like those who came before you and fight for what you
believe in.