- [Instructor] One of the
chief responsibilities
of the U.S. government is
protecting the rights of citizens.
But what are those rights?
The extent of and limits on
rights can be very complex.
That's why we have constitutional lawyers
and Supreme Court cases
to decide whether the government protects
or prohibits certain activities.
But we can make some generalizations
about categories of rights in
the American political system.
In this and the videos that
follow, we're gonna distinguish
between three different types of rights,
personal rights, political
rights, and economic rights.
So let's dive in to personal rights.
This is a really big umbrella
that includes individual's right
to decide the best course
of action for themselves.
Personal rights define the
ways that you should be free
from government interference
in your private life,
your home, your mind, and your body.
You'll recognize some of
them from the Bill of Rights,
particularly the First Amendment,
which protects freedom
of speech and religion,
and the Fourth Amendment,
which protects the right
of the people to be secure
in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects
against unreasonable
searches and seizures.
So what are some of these rights?
I've tried to put them into a spectrum
from freedom of body to
freedom of mind and heart,
although you'll see that
there are lots of places
where freedom of body and
freedom of mind overlap.
First, there's freedom of movement.
This means that you can
move to a different state
or even move to a different
country if you want to.
The U.S. government won't
force you to stay put.
There's the freedom of association.
That is to hang out
with anyone you want to.
There's the freedom to
refuse medical care,
to be able to control your own body.
The government can't force you
to undergo a medical procedure.
Likewise, there's the
freedom to have children,
as many or as few as you want.
There's also the freedom
from government intrusion
into your private domain,
also known as the right to privacy.
It means that the government can't come
into your home without a
warrant or otherwise interfere
in your private life behind closed doors.
There's the freedom of expression,
the ability of an individual or group
to express their beliefs,
thoughts, ideas, and emotions.
There's the freedom to access education.
So people who are school
age have the right
to receive a public education
no matter who they are
or whether they have learning differences.
There's the freedom to
marry whomever you choose.
And lastly, there's freedom
of religion and conscience.
This is your personal right
to think and believe whatever you want.
The United States doesn't
have an established church,
meaning one that the
government supports financially
or that citizens are obligated to attend.
Some of these freedoms
might seem like no-brainers,
but people who live in
authoritarian societies
don't necessarily enjoy these same rights.
If you've ever read George
Orwell's novel "1984,"
it's a good example of what
society might look like
without these rights.
In it, the government spies
on everyone in their homes
and prevents anyone from speaking out
against the ruling party.
But it's also important to recognize
that these rights aren't absolute.
Many of them have limits,
and what those limits
should be sparks a lot
of public debate.
For example, when we talk about the right
to refuse medical care, we
might think about vaccines.
Should people be required to get vaccines
if not doing so poses a risk
to the health of others?
What about freedom of expression?
Should people be able to
say whatever they want,
or should the government
impose limits on hate speech?
The personal rights of one
person will frequently overlap
with or even contradict the
personal rights of someone else.
So that's it for this brief
overview of personal rights.
In the next video,
we'll discuss the political
rights of citizens.
