Boundaries of Freedom

The human rights of an individual play a very important role in his or her everyday life. The right to life, liberty, property, and freedom of speech are just some of the human rights that an individual is entitled to. He or she should have these inalienable rights for the very reason that he or she is a human being and he or she needs these in order to live a life with decency and dignity. Nevertheless, the freedom and rights that people have sometimes tends to conflict with the rights of others.This is due to the fact that individuals have different interests that sometimes overlap or create disagreement among people. As a result, the exercise of an individual’s freedom and human rights also has its limitations. The boundaries of freedom are observable in time of national crisis as well as in the government’s operation to give secure its citizens from harmful threats. In time of national crisis, the security of the citizens of a particular country is greatly challenge d.This is also the instance by which the government needs to exercise more than ever their authority to safeguard the rights and protect its citizens. Due to this, the boundaries in the freedom of people are most observable. In most countries especially in democratic ones, the government acquires its authority because the people entrusted them to uphold and protect their rights. In this sense, the government has the responsibility to lead and protect the people. The decisions and actions that they need to do in time of national crisis entails that it should be for the good of the greater number of people (Semonche, 2002).If the practice of an individual’s right will jeopardize the welfare of many people then the government have to do the necessary action to address this issue including preventing the individual to practice such right. Simply put, the limitation of an individual’s freedom is seen when he or she infringe upon the rights of another. During instances when the security of the people are threatened like in terrorist attacks, the government should do the possible means necessary in order to combat those violent perpetrators.However, the government should be mindful that they should not infringe upon the freedom and personal rights of the people. They should see to it that in times of operations or war, the innocent bystanders should not be involved. They have to make sure that there should be very minimal numbers of civilian casualties (Semonche, 2002). Moreover, the government should know their limitations. The government should always keep in mind that in every operation that they will make the greater good for the majority of the people should be implemented.Lastly, before entering into any armed combat they should be sure that it is a just war wherein the result is greater than damage it will inflict while in the state of war. Reference Semonche, J. (2002). Constitutional Rights in Times of National Crisis: An Historical Perspective . Retrieve February 24, 2009, from http://www. ibiblio. org/semche/history/civlib. html. http://www. ibiblio. org/semche/history/civlib. html http://www. un. org/News/Press/docs/2004/gashc3793. doc. htm http://www. campus-watch. org/article/id/891