Blog Post #9 Locke and Hume

Thanks to political thinkers like Locke and Hume, we live in a time that abounds in freedom. Though Locke’s ideas on acceptable slavery would not work today (as the U.N. would likely not allow conquered people to become slaves) his statement still holds true: “The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but have only the law of nature for his rule.” Of course, this law of nature is given up when we accept a society but I believe it is a necessary trade deal considering that so few of us nowadays could actually live in the wilderness. This acceptance over to society, however, does not mean oppression. This society, according to Locke, is meant to protect us and our property.  That is why we have the Fifth Amendment today. Moving on to Hume, though I completely agree with his freedom of the press, I also believe there are dangers without restrictions. Hume’s ideas work in a rational society, however, what happens when a large portion of the population willfully believes lies? I think propaganda has no place in the news. It should not be up to the government to deem what is and isn’t propaganda, but by a neutral third party, without affiliation to political groups, to observe the observable reality and to choose which publications reflect that observable reality accurately. Though we as college students are taught to check our sources, many Americans do not. This created a schism in the perception of life within this country. Initially, it seemed a thing relegated to online forums, but has now spread out into the real world. The freedom of the press is vital to society; freedom of propaganda, is not.

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