5. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence, 1776)
In this essay, Jefferson, while putting forth a “new” idea, is plagiarizing an earlier work done by John Locke, but, the fact remains that he is saying that neither the government, nor its people can take the previously mentioned rights away from you. Only their Creator, being God, is able to take those things away. No man nor government has the right to take another man’s life, take away his liberty, nor obstruct his pursuit of what makes him happy. The Declaration of Independence was written because the colonists wanted to break free of the tyrannical rule of the British, who were indeed taking away the previously mentioned rights without reason. The ironic thing about this statement is that at that time, the newly formed United States of America still allowed and encouraged slavery, which took away the liberty of many African and African-American men, women, and children.
6. “A prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only profession which befits one who commands...” (Machiavelli, The Prince, 1613)
In this portion of his essay, Machiavelli states that the prince, or leader of a nation should be concerned only with war, and making as much. This essay is pertinent and applicable to the time that it was written, but, in today’s day and age, not so much. I think that the excerpt of the essay, in fact, the whole essay is very well written. Despite the fact that it is almost four hundred years old, and was written in a different English than what we are used to, it is very easy to read. I started reading the essay at 12:30 AM on a Friday night, after having played many sports games with my younger cousins, and despite the fact that I was extremely tired, I clearly understood the message that Machiavelli was trying to get across, and I was astonished by that discovery.
7. “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation, self-purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community.” (King, Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963)
The quote there is pretty much self-explanatory. King is urging on the members of his congregation a non-violent campaign for equal rights, and is telling them how to do it, and is being a leader, even in the face of adversity. The collection of the facts was already done, the negotiation was not effective, unfortunately, I have no idea what King means by self-purification, and the direct action were the marches and sit-ins that took place. Any non-violent means of defying the white man was considered to be direct action. Also, another thing that King was trying to tell the members of his congregation was that they must accept the consequences of their actions without struggle, because if they were to struggle, that would defeat the purpose of a non-violent campaign. I believe that King did an excellent job in urging on his cause, and although most likely unwillingly, he advanced his cause all the further by becoming a martyr for the civil rights movement.
9. “For justice, when it exists, is the most generous and liberal of all virtues, loving itself less than it loves all the people in the world, and living for the benefit of others rather than of itself.” (Cicero, The Defense of Injustice, 1st century BC)
Here, the idea of justice is being described as a benevolent concept that cares nothing for itself, but cares for and loves everyone and everything. But, while the concept of justice is benevolent, the system through which justice is “achieved” is not, it is a cutthroat web of lies sewn only to get out of it what you want, as long as you have a better story, better lies, and better lawyers. And in these days, what is justice really? People have lost all knowledge of justice, they only believe in a delusion of “happiness” created by giant law firms to get people to sue for anything, just so that the lawyers can get more money. And if real justice is achieved, you have crazy people protesting the outcome, and getting the ruling, and sometimes even the sentence over-turned. With all of this chaos in the human justice system, there is only one form of justice left. The Rapture at the hand of God. Then, and only then, will true justice be achieved.
grade earned: 80
thoughts?
stupidbfabout2bmyex Community Member 
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