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Personal freedom is the freedom to have personal rights such as the freedom of speech, movement, assembly, religion, and so forth. The weight of an individual’s personal freedom is etched in the law and is widely diverse in various countries. Individuals who are “free” in their personal lives have full control over their decisions and actions; whereas people who are deprived of their personal freedom often are restricted from any freedom that enables them to contradict their respective governments.

Human Freedom Statistics

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In the last two decades, the United Nations conducted a survey to produce statistics expressing the amount of personal freedom each respective country has. There was a shock in the outcome of the survey. From the survey, the United Nations developed a list of the "Top 10 Countries with Highest Freedom Ranking" and "The 10 Countries with Lowest Freedom Ranking." This list, along with the rest of the survey, was based on a point system with a range of 0-40. Zero points means that the individuals in the country have the least amount of personal freedom. Forty points means that the individuals in the country have the most personal freedom.

The results of the survey showed that the "social democracies of Northern Europe are the freest societies in the world." This came as a shock to people who thought that America's commitment to individualism and democratic freedom meant more freedom, for the United States of America were ranked with a score of 33 in the survey. This score placed the country between the 15-20 most free countries. Countries such as Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands top the list and countries such as Romania, Libya, and Iraq make up the bottom three countries on the list.

The "Human Freedom Index" was composed from the same survey that the United Nation's had conducted in 1985, with their information released in 1991. The index compares the amount of freedom that the governments of the different countries grant it's citizens. When conducting the survey, the United Nations took into consideration factors in rights such as the right to travel, assemble, an education and religion, and speech. Other factors such as the way that the government handles crimes and conducts legal punishment were taken into consideration as well. The legal systems of each country, of course, were well thought of. A countries judiciary system and legal rights to trials, along with the freedom of privacy in religion and sexual practice were also major factors in the outcome of the survey.

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The First Amendment

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"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

In the United States Constitution, the First Amendment is part of the United States Bill of Rights. The amendment puts into text the rights that Americans have to religion and the different forms of speech. Along with expressing what the people of the United States have a right to, the amendment also includes what restrictions the United States congress has from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion". In other words, the amendment states that Congress cannot compose laws that restrict an individual's free exercise of religion or speech. The text of the First Amendment also includes the prohibition of Congress to make laws infringing the freedom of the press, the right to assemble peacefully, and the right to petition the government.

The text of the First Amendment specifies that such rights and freedoms like the freedom of speech and assembly being violated by Congress is prohibited. However, the text is very broad. Congress only makes up the Legislative Branch of the three branches of the American government. When evaluated more thoroughly, although the first sentence of the Constitution reserves all law making authority to Congress, the United States court decided that the concept of the First Amendment should also apply to the other two government branches (Judicial and Executive).

Freedom of the Press

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The freedom of the press is basically the freedom to publish information in print or broadcasting information through electronic media like the t.v and the radio. More specifically, the press is granted the freedom to do so without needing or being restricted by the need of a license or content reviews. Often times the freedom of the press is challenged by the government due to the press exploiting confidential information, or the fact that private information is "leaked" out into the press. Sometimes not only is the press attacked by the government, but by churches and other similar organizations as well. Because the press is not restricted to the content that they broadcast, it has become a modern concept that people or organizations practice censorship. Self-censorship, when dealing with the press, is basically retaining information without leaking information to th press.

Freedom of Assembly

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Freedom of Movement

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Freedom of Religion

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Freedom of Speech

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-restrictions on freedom of speech



Works Cited

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  • "Freedom of Speech." Principles of Democracy. August 204. U.S Department of State.

9 Jul 2008 <http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/principles/speech.htm>.

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