On Liberty and the US Constitution
None of the issues being raised today by the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement are new, but rather they date back to the very beginning of the United States. At the time the Constitution was written in 1787, human rights and civil liberties were far more constrained than they are in the 21st Century. Only white men with property had voting rights for example, while most states still had slavery and women and children were still the property of fathers and husbands. Only very gradually was the Constitution amended to grant equal citizenship and voting rights to all, and even the original Bill of Rights was added only because the Antifederalists threatened to block ratification. In comparison, the libertarianism of John Stuart Mill in his famous book On Liberty was very radical indeed, even in 1859 much less 1789. He insisted that individuals should be left totally free to do as they pleased so long as they did no harm to others. To that extent, he would have supported the rights of OWS to protest and dissent, and been highly critical of how the authorities were suppressing the movement on the flimsiest of pretexts. As a supporter of free markets, he would also have opposed the trillions in dollars in bailout money that large banks and corporations have received from governments. On the other hand, he probably would have found the ideas of many OWS supporters too radical or socialistic, but at the same time have defended their right to assemble and demonstrate
Should Religious Symbols Be Worn in Schools
Many parents and students were confused, when a school district in Nebraska stopped a 12 years old girl, Elizabeth Carey from wearing a necklace because it resembled a rosary. Rev. Joseph Taphorn said to press that "One ought to be able to figure out whether she's trying to promote a gang," he added. "If she's not, why would she be punished for her right of religious freedom and religious expression? (Haynes)"
The theory of punishment
John Locke was an English philosopher, who is undoubtedly the philosopher of modern times and the originator of concepts like self and identity, human nature and understanding, theory of mind and several other concepts regarding political philosophy and ethics. Born in 1632 and died in 1704, Locke is unanimously termed as the Father of Classical Liberalism since during the enlightenment era; he was amongst the most influential and widely followed scholars. Many of his works regarding liberalism and republicanism have been included into the US Declaration of Independence and Constitution, due to their authenticity and practicality in real terms.