Defining the Ideals
When our nation was young, the founding fathers and governing figures laid out a framework for a new type of nation based upon a system of ideals. These ideals were intended to help guide the residents and future leaders of the nation in their choices and responses to different scenarios. The five ideals are:
Liberty
Liberty, in short, is freedom, or "the value of individuals to have agency (control over their own actions)." Someone who has liberty is free to do what they please and function under their own free will. However, if liberty is given in excess, the society will turn to a state of anarchy, in which their are no rules or regulations to keep people in line. Throughout our nation's history, the government and people have deprived liberty from certain individuals or groups for fear of a loss of control over the nation and its functions. Sometimes, the desire for control and authority has outweighed the need for all people to have their freedoms.
Equality
Equality is a state in which all people are considered equal and given the same chances and resources. Also known as egalitarianism, this ideal "maintains that all humans are equal in fundamental worth or social status." There are many different types of equality, including gender, racial, economic, and political. Gender and racial equality have fairly simple definitions: the equality and same treatment of people of all different races and genders. However, economic and political equality are more advanced. These philosophies imply the equalization of all people in terms of wealth and power. This is also the basic outline for communism, the hated philosophy during the Cold War. Sometimes politicians and people were accused of being communist for trying to promote these types of equality. This was one of the most violated ideals during this period.
Democracy
Democracy is "power to the people." A democratic society is one in which the people are allowed to vote for the passing of laws, the election of government officials, and other issues. The people are also supposed to have equal legal power regardless of wealth or status. However, during the Cold War, many of the people who held power were hardly democratic. They used bribes, payment, false information and many other deceitful tricks to get into office and have their opinion turned to law. These politicians frequently had a much better chance at getting into office compared to many of their fellow citizens due to wealth and overall control of the people and their opinions. Although mostly everyone was allowed to vote, the people they voted for were far more influential then they should have rightfully been.
Rights
A right is the permission of a common person to do something. Rights can vary from a parent letting their child go to their friends' houses to a government letting the people have unconditional rights to freedom of speech. They can also be the owing of something to the right holder from the person who gave the right, such as the "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" doctrine in the Declaration of Independence. There are also natural and legal rights, which are considered opposites sometimes. Natural rights, or inalienable rights, are rights supposedly given to all people just by being born, including "rights to life" and others considered to be just above human morals. Legal rights are those given to a person as the result of the society or culture, like the right to vote. Many of these rights were put to law by the United Nations after World War II. Throughout the Cold War, the United States government pushed away the human rights intended to be given to all people in foreign conflicts, overthrowing or helping to overthrow democratically-elected governments and depriving foreign people, many of whom were innocent, of their inalienable rights through brutal military action.
Opportunity
The most basic summary of an opportunity is a chance. Whether to succeed economically or to do something desirable, opportunities can make or break a person's life. It is defined as "a favorable juncture of circumstances" or "a good chance for advancement or progress" (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). In other words, an opportunity is either an opening of a position or a lucky break to advance. During the Cold War, economic struggles due to payment for the war and other developments led to the US government nearly going into bankruptcy. People were frequently out of work and under tough circumstances because the government was unable to assist the people who needed economic help. Many people did not find the opportunity to move up in society and economic status during the war.