What does freedom mean?
Freedom means the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. And the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government (dictionary.com).
Then what is “freedom” in this country?
It is quite hard to justify in one specific way, but how I view is that it is a very magical word that can justify and defend any ones eager or action, especially in the US.
From “How people learn to be civic,” gave an example of this odd freedom.
A mother was trying to make her child eat vegetables, however, the child refused to eat the vegetables by saying “you can’t make me. It’s a free country.”
And the author mentioned that in US people would just chuckle on it, but in Britain, people would get puzzled (263pg).
Why would people have different expressions? Well, to explain in a simple way, the United State was built on freedom. People from everywhere came to this country for freedom and to protect their rights as a human being. The word “freedom” is like the main theme, motto, and reason for the United States to exist.
Till here we can think that the meaning of freedom is more special to the US citizens. However, somehow this “freedom” is used negatively to justify one’s greed and unnecessary request. People tend to think “as this country is built on freedom, the country MUST follow and protect human right’s for freedom or else it will be denying how this country was built.”
This is a great problem for the US. Under the word “freedom” the country has to deal with every free request as it is the country’s responsibility to protect the freedom of the citizens.
How I see this problem is that it all comes from too much freedom given to citizens of this country. That people do not know how to be satisfied with what they are given and do not accept the word “freedom” seriously.
The only way for better understanding of this odd “freedom” in this country, is that people would be more respectful and appreciate it as an honored gift than just treating as a magical word to justify or defend one’s eager.
[The word freedom is the driving force behind the United States, but it is also a shackle that binds it backward.]
I like the way you ended your post! The idea of freedom can often be taken for granted, this is great to recognize when discussing a basis for understanding the controversial topic. When I think of others who take the word and idea for granted, I think about them not coming into direct contact with citizens of other countries who don’t get that privilege. Nicely put!