Does the United States live up to this ideal? Indeed, it is easy to point out many ways where the country lacks freedom and so can never really be totally free; however, we must also take into consideration why so many people do seek asylum in our nation. The article from Newsweek talks about the growing number of people seeking asylum in the US due to discrimination or persecution based on their sexual orientation. And while gay rights are still a contentious issue, what is generally true is that in the US, unlike in many other places around the globe, it is acceptable and even welcome to be openly gay, lesbian, or transgender. Whereas there are places, such as Brazil as noted in the article, where people who are homosexual face violent repercussions for their sexuality, in the US any type of discrimination, violent or otherwise, is highly frowned upon and faces consequences in the legal system. This is good! We should feel quite fortunate to live in a nation where it is not okay to discriminate or attack others based on sexual orientation, gender, race, etc.
Of course, the United States is by no means perfect. There is much work still to be done before prejudice is expunged, if such an ideal is even possible. But perhaps we should also look outward and attempt to agitate for change around the globe. What better way to do this is there than to lead by example? As the United States and other nations become increasingly accepting of human differences, the wave will grow. Hopefully, we will be able to avoid social regression and see a much more tolerant and amiable atmosphere for future generations. Until then, the US should continue to be a safe haven for the world’s persecuted minorities.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/224893/page/1
3 comments:
People supporting transcendental approach to justice would probably say that the U.S. is still unjust (not perfectly just, at least). But Sen will argue that comparatively, the U.S. is a more just place than many other countries in the world.
As you mentioned in the beginning, we have to acknowledge that the nation is still non-perfect. Homosexual couples still cannot get married in most of the states. Death Penalty is still practiced here while many other countries have abandoned it (the justness about death penalty is open to debate). The social welfare system is far from many European countries. There is still much left to be done.
I agree with you! I think that the United States is a great place which has a lot more freedom than many parts of the world. I think that some, when arguing for greater equality in the US, forget this fact. Yet at the same time, we can't just ignore the problems in the US. I think this is also a great argument for why we should greatly expand immigration. Many people are born in countries where their basic human rights are not respected, and they hope to come to the United States for asylum. Unfortunately, it can be hard to be allowed to come into the US, and so these people are forced to live in horrible societies simply because they were born there (not because they made any conscious decision). Rawls would certainly object to this. I agree that if the entire world came to the US, our society could not function. But as for many current illegal immigrants who live in such bad conditions that they are driven to break the law, I think we could let many more of them in legally.
I certainly agree that the United States has accomplished much in the way of human rights activism to advance the oppressed plights of minorities, specifically as discussed above, with respect to achieving equality based on sexual orientation. I think it is this progressive energy towards actively striving to achieve greater equity that has generally given the United States more readily the perception of being a relative safe haven for gay,lesbian, bisexual, and transgender groups. However there obviously still remains in place some serious barriers to reaching true equity. Prop 8 and 10 are legislative measure that have operated to legalize these inequities. Certainly legislative equality is the first step towards achieving true social equality, and even then as raised by Young, legislative equality does not necessarily translate into social equality. However, based on the tradition of progress and advancement in our democratic system, we can project that we'll get there...eventually.
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