The Arab Spring - Essay Example

Freedom Freedom is something we take for granted as if we are en d to it. We enjoy it in every waking moment of our life never really thinking what it took to have it. It also seem that we do not care about it because we exert no effort to care about it. Everyday we enjoy the right to speak our mind, to worship any Gods or gods we wanted to, to publish ideas that are even in disagreement to other people, to educate ourselves, to chose our leaders, to demand good governance and yes, to even freely criticize, protest our government and its officials.

Freedom that if we do in other countries could either send us to jail or even killed. Yet we take it as an entitlement, something like a birthright. Not so long ago, there was a movement or uprising called The Arab Spring in the Middle East. We all saw it on TV, internet, newspapers and other forms of media but never really cared about. It was a movement of citizens to rise against their governments to have freedom and democracy so that their lives will become better. We may not realize it, but the freedom that our forefathers fought with blood, sweat and tears is not currently enjoyed by many people in other countries.

Today, even as this paper is written, there are still a lot of people struggling and fighting for freedom. In the country of Syria, there is now a civil war going on where people have to fight, suffer and die by the thousands, sometimes brutally, just to have freedom. It started in the exercise of freedom that we take granted – protesting and speaking against the government. While this exercise of freedom is taken very casually here in the United states, that exercise of freedom in Syria was fired upon by the government forces where innocent civilians died.

There are still a lot of countries where people do not have the freedom to speak against or criticize their governments. In this note, it is also important to note our freedom of religion and freedom of expression and the press which is virtually non-existent in other countries. It is the freedom we have to chose the God we want to worship and to criticize and even make sarcasm of religious practices that we do no agree. We can recall the case of Danish Cartoon Crisis of 2005 and 2006 where a local newspaper  Jyllands-Posten published a caricature of prophet Mohammed that suggests of him being an instigator of terror.

When the Imams (Muslim priests) knew about it, they called for violence against the Danish government where Danish embassies in muslim countries were burned. The Imams demanded apology from the Danish government and for the publisher of the caricature to be arrested where the Danish government refused because it is against the basic principles of freedom which in practiced in Denmark, United States and other free countries. Giving in to the demand of censuring the newspaper would send the message that with enough violence and terror, those who wanted to curb freedom can get what they want.

Few months ago, the world’s imagination was captured by a young girl from Pakistan name Malala Yousafzai who was shot by Taliban just because she wanted to go school and educate herself. The taliban dominated government of Pakistan being against in the education of women, shot her instead so that she will not be able to go to school. Here, many students do not value the education that is given to them by the government. Many students cut or absent themselves from class whereas in other country, there are certain conditions to it before they can be educated.

The list and circumstances can go on and on of people’s struggle to be free – to exercise choice without the dictate of the government. Suffice to say that the freedom we enjoy today is still desired by many people in other countries with some still in the process of fighting to get it with blood, sweat and tears. Having said this, it is hoped that we realize the value of freedom and not take it for granted. We can value it by exercising the choices given to us to better ourselves, our surroundings, our country, our government and our society.

We can value it by exercsing it responsibly, whereby the freedom to speak and take up causes will be used to advance good causes that betters the lives of people. It may be a cliche to mention but its truism never fades no matter how many it is repeated – that we will never know the true value of freedom until it is taken away from us. I hope that we will know the value of freedom without it being taken away from us.