Mikey - 26 - Atlantic City, NJ

Rutgers University / Walden University

Healthcare Consultant / Entrepreneur

Mikey’s Statement

Every person should be afforded the opportunity to speak, act, and believe whatever which way they choose appropriate. No interference into the lives of private citizens in regard to the aforementioned tenet, from government, corporations, or individuals should be deemed justified, unless in their choice of speech or action, a private citizen infringes on the ability of another to enjoy the same aforementioned right. If the act, thought, or speech of an individual, group, or corporation is shown to negate others’ ability to act, think, speak, or believe freely, it becomes the government’s onus to protect the rights of the individual or groups being infringed upon or negatively affected.

It is through freedom of thought and expression that our nation has risen to greatness; this freedom should be preserved at all costs. It is not the government’s responsibility to censor, protect, or shelter individuals from the prevailing thoughts, viewpoints, cultural expressions, or any other medium of expression. Individuals must rely on their own volition and ability to make choices as to what thoughts, actions, and words they expose themselves to. Responsibility must be on the individual to remove themselves from discourse, thought, or action they find reprehensible without the aid of government. By placing the onus of free thought and subsequent discretion onto the citizens of this nation, encouraging intellectual innovation without the fear of retaliatory action, and protecting the ability of citizens to live without strict moral boundaries, within the pretense stated above, a government can be said to be working diligently for the prosperity of its citizens.

In the event that the government must interfere into the lives of private citizens in order to protect the greater good of the populace, that is their ability to live according to the rights afforded to them by the general precept, the action of government must be responsible, temporary, and with the goal of restoring all citizens ability to live freely. Upon completion of the aforementioned task, the government must withdrawal any laws, statues, or precepts designed to constrain free-thought, action, or expression, unless a lingering threat to the aforementioned is deemed significant.

Government should always act with empathy, compassion, and care for its citizens in the forefront of its mind.