Government's Role in Society

Lexi Flake

AP
English

Government’s
Role in Society

         Government has
almost always been a part of society and probably always will be. The
government may be overstepping its boundaries in some people’s
opinions while others think it is justified how involved the
government is, or even think the government should be more involved.
What the government’s role should be in society is to protect
the citizens from harm, provide justice, protect the citizens’
basic human rights (life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness), and
keep the country stable so it doesn’t collapse; they must do
this openly with the citizens, giving them 100% knowledge of what’s
going on and not ignoring what they want.

         The government
should protect its citizens from harm such as an invading country and
even protect the citizens from criminals inside the country itself.
If the government simply lets a foreign country invade the country,
they would lose many citizens to death or being taken captive, and
not only that, but the government would lose its title as ‘the
government’ since it is no longer in control of those citizens.
The government must not only protect the citizens from foreign harm,
but also the crimes that go on inside the country. If the government
simply lets the people run rampant throughout the towns and cities,
people would be hurt or killed and crimes like theft or breaking and
entering would be happening everywhere.

No one would feel
safe or want to live in a place like that; therefore the government
must set laws in place to combat these types of incidents so they
don’t happen. When things like treason happen, consequences
like “death…imprisoned not less than five years and
fined…but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of
holding any office under the United States” have been put into
place (Cornell 1). Not only that but there is an International
Criminal Law in which states that it “seeks to regulate the
behavior of states, organizations, and individuals operating across
national boundries in commission of international crimes …those
crimes constitute genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes..”
(Cornell 1). While the government needs to protect the citizens, some
are starting to argue that the police are becoming too brutal. The
police have become so brutal because of the way society is today, it
is so unpredictable and harsh that they do not know what is going to
happen if they are not.

While the government
must protect the citizens and enforce laws, they cannot take away the
rights citizens have, and force everyone to be equal in a way that
they are in Harrison Bergeron.
In the story, Harrison Bergeron
“Nobody was smarter…better looking…stronger or
quicker” than anybody else (Harrison Bergeron 1). This shows
that in the story no one was an individual and nobody had control
over themselves. This isn’t what the government should be doing
as it is just supposed to protect the citizens, not take away the
control they have over themselves.

         Since the
government has set these laws in place, there must be something done
to ensure that people follow them. This is where judges, juries, and
punishments come into place. Each person who breaks the law will face
a consequence that will be determined by a judge and a jury. “In
all criminal prosecutions...the right to a speedy and public trial”
is available to everyone (US National Archives and Records 11). This
consequence cannot be one that is unfair to the crime commited. So if
a young adult was caught vandalizing, it would be unfair to punish
them with death. However, if the young adult was caught killing
multiple people that may be a more suitable punishment, as “excessive
bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines, not cruel and
unusual punishments inflicted” (US National Archives and
Records 13).

         Within the
governmental duty of protecting the citizens from harm, the country
must protect the basic human rights everyone is born with. These are
the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. “No
person shall be…deprived of without due process of law”
these rights of life (US National Archives and Records 10). This
means that they cannot make one race superior to another and give
them unfair opportunities. The government cannot deny one person the
equal opportunity to do something based on gender or race which was
shown when the government passed the laws that state that “neither
slavery nor involuntary servitude, shall exist within the United
States” and “the right of citizens…shall not be
denied…on account of sex” (US National Archives and
Records 32 and 39). Now the government cannot give equal opportunites
to someone who is in jail for a crime because they have done
something that involved taking away another person’s right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Therefore, the
government cannot deny a man who has done no wrong the right of life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

         Providing justice
and protecting citizens will play a role in keeping the country
stable, but there are also many other things that play an important
role in a keeping a country stable such as the economy. The economy
is important because it’s what will allow the citizens to lead
lives that are stable. Though making sure the economy stays stable is
important, a country must make sure that some companies don’t
form monopolies, which are the “exclusive control of a
commodity or service in a particular market” (Random House
Dictionary). The country must also put restrictions on who can and
cannot work, “the federal child labor provisions, were enacted
to ensure that when young people work, the work is safe and does not
jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunites”
(Wage and Hour Division 1).
This is done so each child is set up with
an equal opportunity to learn and someday compete for a job to
contribute to the ecomony.

         While all these
things are important, the government must do so openly and freely
with the citizens and not ignore what they want or are trying to tell
the government. As in Republic form of government, the citizens are
the ones who control it. A republic is “a state in which the
supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is
exercised by representatives chosen directly by them” (Random
House Dictionary). Since the citizens control the Republic form of
government, they have to be aware of what the government is doing and
what’s going on. This way, if something is happening that they
don’t agree with, they can do something to stop it and have a
say. The only way that can happen and that the citizens can take
responsibility is if the government is open and gives its citizens
100% knowledge of what is happening.

         The government will
always be a part of society, just as it always has. In today’s
world there is controvery over whether or not the government is
becoming too involved. The government’s role should simply be
to protect the citizens, provide justice when needed, protect the
basic human rights, and keep the country stable; but the citizens
must at all times have a say in what the government does and have
100% knowledge of what they are doing and what is going on.

Work Cited

"18 U.S. Code
Chapter 115 - TREASON, SEDITION, AND SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES." LII
/ Legal          Information Institute. Cornell University Law School, n.d.
Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"Child Labor -
Wage and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor." Child
Labor - Wage          and Hour Division (WHD) - U.S. Department of Labor.
United States Department of          Labor, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

"International
Criminal Law." LII / Legal Information Institute. Cornell
University Law School,          n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.

“National
Archives and Records Administration.” National Archives and
Records Administration.          National Archives and Records
Administration, n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.

Random House
Dictionary. "Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com.
Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 23 Oct.          2014.

Vonnegut, Kurt.
“Harrison Bergeron.” 1961. Print.