Recognizing Ideologies Essay
       By: JonathanH123

In the famous quote by Benjamin Franklin(“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”) he said that if you’re going to give up your liberty for a little safety then you shouldn’t have either. I agree with what Benjamin Franklin said in his quote because I’d rather have my liberty and not have to give it up for safety. The Bill of Rights gives us liberty and if I were to choose my top three out of the first 10 Amendments they would be the 5th, 1st and 3ed Amendments. Just these three Amendments alone can keep me safe, I’d rather not have to give up my liberty for anything. The Bill of Rights is what keeps our liberty and also keeps us safe.

First off, each Amendment has their own individual purpose, but to me and most people some Amendments are better than others. I chose the 5th Amendment because of the fact that it ensures Due Process and Eminent Domain. Due Process is a major right to have, it basically helps balance the power of law of the land(laws in force in a country or region). This is important because it means that the rules are being enforced, which also means our safety. Eminent Domain is also great to have because the government has the right to take your land away for public use but they have to pay compensation. They’ll take my land anyway, I just feel a little safer knowing I’ll get compensation back for it. With the compensation I can possibly buy another piece of land, but without it I won’t be able to, your home is the most important piece of property you have why not have a backup plan.

Secondly, in my number 2 spot I chose the 1st Amendment, the freedom of religion, speech, assembly, petition and press. I chose this Amendment as my second most important out of the first 10 Amendments because it ensures that I won’t get in trouble for what I say and believe in. To me and mostly everyone that cares about their freedom the 1st Amendment is also high on their list. In detail this Amendment is towards the U.S. Constitution forbidding congress from interfering with a citizen’s right to freedom of religion, speech, assembly or petition. Almost everyone would agree that the freedom religion, speech, assembly and petition are huge assets to have, I would feel a lot safer if I didn’t get locked up for what I believed in or for what I’ve said.

Lastly, I chose the 3ed Amendment for the third spot on my list. The 3ed Amendment is important because it puts restrictions on the quartering of troops. In detail this Amendment places restrictions on quartering of troops in private homes without the owner’s consent also forbidding the practice in peacetime(period of time where there are no violent conflicts between two parties). Life, liberty and the pursuit of property used to be the phrase back then before Thomas Jefferson changed it. John locke was a philosopher back in the 16th century, he came up with the saying life, liberty and the pursuit of property. When he says pursuit of property it’s because it’s very important, Locke believed that property was equal to life and liberty which is true in my eyes. So to protect my house from people coming onto/into my property without my permission the 3ed Amendment is very useful and keeps me safe.

In conclusion, I agree with what Benjamin Franklin means in his quote, I’d rather not give up my liberty for a little safety. The Bill of Rights are the foundation to our liberty, liberty is the foundation to our safety. My top three Amendments are the 5th, 1st and 3ed Amendments. Just these three Amendments alone can keep me safe. Why give up liberty for safety when our liberty provides essential safety already.