Individual Rights vs Public Order

Advantages and Disadvantages of Individual Rights vs. Public Order. There are advantages and disadvantages to just about everything you can think of in this world. Two topics that can be very controversial to have an advantages and disadvantages discussion on are our individual rights and public order. We hold our individual rights very close to us and pride ourselves on the freedoms that these rights provide. We also see the devastation that can occur when the rights and freedoms we are given land in the hands of the wrong people.

People that abuse their individual rights tend to disrupt public order and this is when we catch that glimpse and sometimes horror of one of the big disadvantages of individual rights verses public order.

We are well aware of what individual rights are and how they apply to us, so we will come back to that, but what about public order? What exactly is that? Public order is in place to keep society as a whole safe from misdeeds.

Public order is also a system in place that restricts some freedoms that people may want.

Freedoms are the ideals in life that everyone can take advantage of no matter who they are. Public order is refraining from any acts of involvement that may lead to violence, which may be disrupting, while out in the public or any other acts or behaviors that may be illegal to do out in the streets. For instance, disruption in public order often times results in hindering someone else of their individual rights.

Public order is considered to be disrupting the public in a way that may make being in the public unsafe.

When violating public order, it is considered a crime, and can lead to jail time and or paying a fine if a conviction is obtained. However the real price to pay actually lands on the shoulders of society as our individual rights are infringed upon when public order is, well, not in order. As an American citizen you learn that you have individual rights and those rights come with having or sustaining public order. As Individuals living in an American society we all have individual rights. Our individual rights are our rights to define and sanction our freedom of relevance in a social America.

One right we do have is the right to life. All the rest of the rights come with consequences or fine print. Our individual rights are there to equally provide us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in this world of social America. They exist to give people his or her freedoms, while that same freedom can allow people to take advantage of their freedoms. Freedom is the item that keeps the people of this country happy. People feel secure in what they are doing during their everyday lives. A person’s individual rights are what keep people happy throughout his or her life.

People are given many different rights that make them feel happy and appreciated even if they do not recognize them. Individual rights are freedoms that let people choose who they want to be and also give them the fair treatment that they deserve to get as a citizen. Individual rights are the rights that people are given to keep them from being mistreated by the government or anyone else. Most of these rights are to keep the people from being mistreated by the Justice system. Our individual rights are mostly summed up within the first Ten Amendments, otherwise known as the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights helps to safeguard the citizens of this country. According to (National Constitution Center, 2008) “Nearly two-thirds of the Bill of Rights is devoted to safeguarding the rights of persons suspected or accused of crime”. These rights are outlined in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth amendments. They give people the right to “due process of law, fair trial, and freedom from self-incrimination, cruel and unusual punishment and being held in jeopardy twice for the same crime. National Constitution Center, (2008) Take for instance the first Amendment, it protects freedom of speech, press, religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; the right for people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of a grievance. (Bill of Rights, 2000-2009) The advantage of having this was so that people could peaceably seek out about the injustices of their country without being punished or harm for doing so. As time goes on you see that it is not so wrong to allow people to address their concerns.

After all, that is the way a democracy is suppose to be done in a country where a person’s voice and opinion matters. This amendment allows the press to question people of a certain caliber and also ask questions that the world wants to know about. Another advantage is that when it comes to justice you have the right to speak whatever you want and it also allows you to be silent when you want. It also has the advantage of helping aid in speaking out when there has been an injustice to others and yourself. The disadvantage though is that, if expressing your first amendment right becomes violent, you can face jail time and pay possible fines.

This disrupts public order. If you happen to be with an organization, you may have law enforcement officials surround you for the protection of others and for that particular organization; most of the time the protection is for the other people. This is where public order comes in to play. It also poses a disadvantage because the area that the organization is acting or addressing their first amendment right in cannot disrupt others who may have to cross paths through or around the organization. The area must remain safe and sufficient for all if not then the involvement of the law will commence.

There is not complete freedom in expressing the individual right because it could affect public order. The advantages to having individual rights are being able to express yourself and be treated equally among society. However, the disadvantage is that the right you carry is limited according to what effect expressing it will have on society. Without public order, many of our rights would not carry the same significance. Public order places a boundary on our individual rights, but it is a boundary that is “for our own good”. If every right that is outlined for us had no boundaries or restrictions on it, our society would end up in chaos.

Like mentioned before, our rights contain fine print that not everyone reads when signing on the dotted line. This fine print is what keeps public order while still allowing us to retain our rights we believe we are entitled to. Unfortunately, many people out there are not concerned with public order and only care about expressing and practicing their own rights with no regard to what effect it may or may not have on anybody else. Others are more concerned with public order and public safety, that they support rules or laws that put up invisible walls that box our rights in.

They cannot wander free for fear of devastation or destruction to our society. Regardless of a particular point of view, we believe that anyone in a fair and honest discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of individual rights verses public order can see the advantages of embracing our proclaimed rights in America as well as the disadvantages and being able to admit the advantages and disadvantages of how American goes about maintaining public order. References Bill of Rights; North East Digital Village; 2000-2009. http://nedv. net/village/billofrights/amendment1. php National Constitution Center, 2008

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