Jonathan Joseph Chemali
Ms. Dania Adra
English 203
10 October 2015
We always encounter traffic
signs in our daily lives which most of them are not respected especially in
Lebanon where people are usually rebellious. How are these signs useful to society?
Do they really have a meaning? An example of these signs is shown in this
picture. This sign indicates that a specific road has a certain direction.
Jean Jacques Rousseau in his text “ The social contract “ highlights the idea of freedom and liberty. In his comparison between the state of nature and the civil state he shows how man naturally is governed by “instinct” and “physical impulses” such as “force” and “appetite”, but due to arguments between people, man becomes civilized with a “sense of justice”, ”duty”, he knows the difference between what is right and what is wrong justifying his claim that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau 114). Born free meaning free by nature, being in chains meaning that he obeys the law and everywhere meaning society.
Back to our traffic sign:
We can count it as one of the rules of the road, we are restricted in a way because of that sign. It deprives car to oppose a certain direction in that specific road, meaning that we do not have the freedom to drive the way we desire. The road has regulations that we should follow and obey or else face consequences such as facing charges. This emphasizes the purpose of Law and restrictions, that is to keep us away from chaos and mayhem.
Jean Jacques Rousseau in his text “ The social contract “ highlights the idea of freedom and liberty. In his comparison between the state of nature and the civil state he shows how man naturally is governed by “instinct” and “physical impulses” such as “force” and “appetite”, but due to arguments between people, man becomes civilized with a “sense of justice”, ”duty”, he knows the difference between what is right and what is wrong justifying his claim that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau 114). Born free meaning free by nature, being in chains meaning that he obeys the law and everywhere meaning society.
Back to our traffic sign:
We can count it as one of the rules of the road, we are restricted in a way because of that sign. It deprives car to oppose a certain direction in that specific road, meaning that we do not have the freedom to drive the way we desire. The road has regulations that we should follow and obey or else face consequences such as facing charges. This emphasizes the purpose of Law and restrictions, that is to keep us away from chaos and mayhem.
This traffic sign can be related to the text of Rousseau.
It is one of the rules “based on agreements” that allows men to live in a
civilized environment, not in a barbaric society (Rousseau 114). We are “in
chains” when we follow these kind of rules but it brings order to the realm of
driving.
Work cited:
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.”The Social Contract. “Shifting Narratives: A Reader For Academic Writing.Ed. Sinno,Zane , Bioghlu-Karkanawi, lina , Flezsar, Dororta , Jarkas, Najla , Moughabghab , Emma , M.Nish, Jennifer, Rantisi, Rami, Ward, Abir.Beirut:Educart,2015.Print.
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