Founding Men Reflection

Reflection-Carnell Zhou

The founding fathers were revolutionary and implacable in the sense that they endeavored to achieve one goal: American liberty. Thus, they desired to form a country whereby citizens possessed considerable rights, including a significant influence on the government. From what I have read, the founding fathers’ vision has been holistically achieved; however, a few of the amendments that may have seemed imperative during the time of the founding fathers should be tweaked, due to society’s changes since then.

To begin with, I must acknowledge that I praised Benjamin Franklin’s advocacy of free speech. However, such an amendment relies how it is used; for instance, hate speech, the negative aspect of free speech, is used

It is also true that one’s right to bear arms is a form of personal liberty. From reading Justin Liu’s essay, it appears that the preeminent reason as to why the Second Amendment was created was to incite a militia in case tyranny arose within the nation. At the time, a tyrannical and authoritarian government may have seemed plausible; nowadays, however, “It is clear today that despotic regimes do not suddenly appear; rather, democratic government is derived from the people. A tyrannical government could only arise in the USA with a majority of the population supporting it, a very unlikely phenomenon.” As mentioned in the letter, the futility of militias are on full display such as in Yemen, the second highest armed country that is currently facing a conflict between Western dictatorship and jihadist groups. After a bit of research, I have found out that America is the highest armed country, estimating at 89 guns per 100 people. Nevertheless, unlike Yemen’s issue, America is not liable to experience a dictatorship; as previously mentioned, this would only happen if the majority of the people supported it, a quite unlikely possibility. Although the Second Amendment endows upon the citizens a sense of personal safety, it is blatant that this amendment, as practical as it may seem, causes more harm than good in today’s society. In fact, I

By reading Kevin Lim’s essay on immigration and the pursuit of happiness, it seems that the immigration policies implemented at the time were heavily affected by the unusual relationship between the British and the Americans after the American revolution. Moreover, it appears that despite Alex Hamilton’s background as an immigrant as well as an immigration advocate, Hamilton’s personal setbacks caused him to criticize immigration in the US. Although Hamilton’s intent at the time was to protect the Americans from outside forces, the reason as to why immigration is important applies to both then and now; immigrants benefit the economy and facilitate new relationships between countries. A prime example of this topic is the Syrian crisis. Currently, the US’s contribution to the Syrian refugee crisis is quite measly and stagnant, lagging behind in its admittance of refugees compared to other countries. Furthermore, with the upcoming US elections, two extremely distinct views on America’s immigration policies have emerged. Amidst this chaos, it is important to note America refusing to accept the refugees is exactly what ISIS desires, for without the refugees there is no taxation and extortion to fund the terrorist groups. Ergo, I respect America’s wish to protect its people; however, with such arduous and