As a nation the United States claims that it is free. What exactly does that word mean? Since it is such a commonly used word it is hard to put only one meaning to it. We as Americans are considered to be free, but are we really? Another meaning of free is not costing any money. The first definition of free is the most important in my argument; it states that America is the freest and wealthiest nation in the world. Are we free in the eyes of everyday citizens, or are we free in the eyes of the government, which are two very different perspectives. When I think about freedom, to me means being independent and not having any higher authority besides ourselves, we all know this cannot happen though. Although laws keep society in the right path by punishing dangerous or potentially dangerous people there are some laws that go against what I believe to be freedom. For example, the current drinking age is 21, the age at which men and women can fight in the war is 18, now don’t you think if you’re old enough to die for your country you should be old enough to have a beer? There are so many rules and regulations now a days you’d be surprised how many things you do every day that are either illegal or could get you a fine, for example, jaywalking, littering (this includes cigarette butts), speeding, using programs like lime wire and YouTube to download and play copyrighted material, not using a blinker to change lanes, over excessive honking, talking on the phone and driving, texting and driving, ever had a card game with friends for money? Gambling is illegal in Georgia. Even many forms of sex are illegal! With all these in mind it is really hard to give the word freedom to the United States. They word freedom in relation to what rights we have should be changed to modern day slavery.
While looking over the blogs, this particular one caught my eye. As I read your title, it grabbed my attention mainly because only a few weeks ago we had a discussion similar to this in my political science class. Glenn Beck states, “Freedom is the ability of every person to exercise his own free will and conscience, rather than to be subject to the will of a bureaucrat in the government” (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,590381,00.html). If America was truly free, then there would be no forms of government or law. Therefore, each day would be filled with mass confusion and chaos. As discussed in my political science class, most Americans value order over freedom. Also, if America was truly free then discrimination whether by gender or race would overrun our society. If there is discrimination then there is no equality, which happens to be another value most Americans place before freedom. A truly free country is a country where every man is for himself and only the strong survive. As a matter of fact, if a country is based solely on freedom then is it a country at all? Moreover the word freedom is basically a misconception. America is a country that values order, equality, and then a few forms of freedom. I am really interested to see how you elaborate on this topic.
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