The word free can best be defined as the ability to do something at will. In today’s world, being free has infinite definitions. Freedom can be a country that rules itself, a young adult moving out of their parents house, being released from prison, the list goes on and on. Freedom is given to some, but earned through hard work by others. To be safe can be defined as being out of harm’s way. Although safety may not have such a widespread amount of meanings, it still can be understood in a few different ways. American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencke wrote that man would rather be safe than be free. Why? Why would one rather be safe than free? In the United States of America, freedom is something handed out like oxygen, whereas safety …show more content…
Laws are there to help keep the citizens of the United States safe. Without laws, people would be out on the streets killing each other and committing theft left and right. With laws, some people still choose to commit these crimes, but they are less inclined to do so, because they know there will be consequences. Laws have nothing to do with the government controlling the citizens of the United States of America; rather help ensure the citizens safety. With the Constitution in place, freedom will always be a present factor. Americans may be free, but are they safe? To some extents, yes, but there is only so much the government and the people can do to protect their …show more content…
You can choose to be free or to be safe. Both paths have their virtue and their drawbacks. Being safe at a young age can help you have the freedom to choose to be free when you are older. Choosing to be free and take a risk, to try something new or go somewhere you’ve never been can help you learn something you never known or decide it’s better to be safe than sorry. While freedom may be handed out like ice cream cones on free cone day, safety is the malt you decide to order and have to actually pay for. But, who would buy a malt on free cone day, right? I mean, free food is free food. What if the free cone was actually poisoned? What if you should’ve gotten the malt instead? Even though you would’ve had to pay a whole three dollars for it, would it be worth it to not risk being
God has given us as human beings free will. Although if we make choices based on our own free will we must be willing to take the responsibility for the effects that our decisions have on ourselves, on the people around us, and on society itself. Freedom, I believe, is the way in which people live or behave without others annoying or interfering in his or her affairs. People should benefit from freedom, equality and justice. Absolute freedom is sometimes very dangerous and may destroy the basic principles of the society. A lot of people believe that freedom means doing whatever you want, whenever you want.
This can mean many things to different people depending on how it is interpreted. However, I interpret being free as being able to do whatever one desires with no worries at all. This only comes when a person has a great mind to believe that something greater is waiting for them after the hard battle they are dealing with is over. The determined minds that believe anything is possible if work is put in and there is no giving up. These are the people that will prosper and become “free”. Everyone is capable of doing this, it is just putting your mind to work. In today’s society, people are not as mentally tough as they were before. Their minds are too distracted by phones, computers, the internet, drama, and all they stressful and unnecessary things that are believe to be necessary. They are too caught up with these things that time is wasted and that time could have been used to work and plan something increible. Time is something that cannot be bought, it just goes and does not stop. The average person needs to be able to recognize this and then devise a plan to be able to do more than just be
Since the beginning of humanity, a large part of humankind’s focus was directed towards survival. A person’s primary function is to survive and reproduce. As society progresses the the more contemporary of what is expected today, success has become jointed with how an individual works with others and less on how much they achieve by themselves. Mencken wrote that “the average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” In comparison to modern beliefs this notion is quite true. The average American may say they love freedom, but just what kind of freedom are they talking about? For the majority, what they mean is that they want a safe environment where people can do what they want within reason and not bring about harm or discomfort
In conclusion, freedom is having power to inflict a positive change on the world. The ability to be yourself and not change for anyone. The right to choose who rules and who doesn’t rule. Having a chance to get out there and show the world what your all about and who you really are. These are all definitions of freedom and what it truly means to be
In the novel, The Giver by Lois Lowry, the author makes it clear through the main character Jonas that freedom and safety need to find an equal balance. Lowry shows the importance of deep emotions and family through Jonas. Jonas becomes the new receiver of memory and learns about the past. He also learned about the way it was when people knew what love was. Jonas’ father releases newborn children because they don’t weight the correct amount of weight or they don’t sleep well through the night. Release is a nice way of saying kill; the people of the community don’t know what kill means. They don’t have the freedom to expand their vocabulary. Lois Lowry makes it clear that safety has a negative side and you need that you need freedom to have a high functioning community.
Looking the word “freedom” up in the dictionary, I encounter with the following definition: the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited.¹³ Then, we can assume when you are unable to say things you would like to say, or to think in a different way than the one that has been imposed to you, you are not wholly free.
Freedom is not a reward or a decoration that is celebrated with champagne...Oh no! It's a...long distance race, quite solitary and very exhausting." -Albert Camus. The dictionary defines freedom as the condition of being free from restraints. Freedom is not just a word one can say without meaning. It is a privilege, a privilege not everyone is granted. Freedom gives the liberty to choose what should is done and how.
From the Age of Exploration to the Revolutionary period, many factors shaped the connotation of the word liberty. Liberty is defined as, “the quality or state of being free” (Merriam-Webster). This means religious freedoms, political freedoms, social freedoms, and many freedoms we may not think of on a daily basis. Throughout history, the word liberty has developed into a word with a positive connotation as well as a word used to describe the freedom we have today. The idea of liberty developed because of, religious persecutions, restrictions, and maltreatment during the fifteenth century through the seventeenth century.
Freedom is having the right to own, act, think, and speak without any restrictions from the outside. Ever since the New World was discovered, people have been fighting for their independence till this day. People of other colors and race have been forced to do labor without their consent. Today, those same people have been blamed or accused of crimes that were not committed by them despite of being free. Freedom has different meanings and those meanings change overtime; however sometimes the significance of freedom does not change.
The American Ideological Consensus is that “…the American people have shared much of the same ideals, the same basic principles, and the same patterns of belief” (McClenaghan 104). When America filled itself with ideologically homogenous people, their beliefs started to define our nation and became American identities. If asked what they think of America, peoples of other nations would say that the roads are made of glass, opportunity is in the air, and civil rights are plentiful. These accounts maybe accentuated; however, the underlying message is that the American people have more freedoms then the peoples of other nations do. The most widely known American identity is freedom, and even though that American identity has been tried and tested throughout much of its history, it can still be said that America is a land of liberty.
Throughout history freedom has had many different meanings and definitions; based on race, gender, and ethnicity. According to the dictionary freedom means the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint (“freedom” def. 1). Freedom may seem like something given to everyone however it was something workers had to fight for. Not everyone believed that workers’ rights needed to be changed, which led to a long battle between workers, employers and the government. To the working class people freedom meant making higher wages, having regulated hours, workable conditions and the right to free speech.
Perhaps the most exclusive aspect of American freedom is stated directly in the Declaration of Independence. It states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" (Jefferson). This well-known statement truly incorporates all facets of what it means to be free in America. The citizens of this country have the right to live. They have the right to be free of restriction and control, to do what they please. And they have the right to be happy in whatever way that might be. These rights are...
Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. In America there is numerous of choices that someone may make on a daily basis. If someone were allowed to make their own choices and were being told what to do; then they would not be free. When someone is allowed to speak when they want to, and say what they want; such as their opinion or view of something. Being allowed to have a right to speak is one of the most important characteristics of being an American. Thinking and stating your opinion in any predicament it a strong part in being a citizen because people in the United States are known for being able to think in their own ways. Freedom can stretch too many things such as being able to do as they please, they are not forced into doing anything that someone may want. The citizens of the United States are not made to do anything that one may not want to do; like
Freedom is often spoken of in what can be referred to as a loose sense of the word. One country has more freedom than another; a twenty-one year old has more freedom than a fifteen year old. What exactly does this word mean? For different people it may mean different things, but there has to be an equilibrium that can be reached in order to determine the meaning of freedom itself. In one form, freedom can mean that a person has "exemption from an obligation."* If only the root (free) is looked at, it can be interpreted that one is "not under the control or power of another."*
When referring to freedom these words are often associated with freedom: Liberty, independence, sovereignty, autonomy, privilege, immunity, and indulgence. Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and justice. Independence is granted by freedom in the sense that an outside party does not control you. To gratify ones desires by whichever ways they choose is freedom through indulgence. Privileges are g ranted through freedom. In some countries the dictator or ruler makes choices for their people on regards to what profession they shall have or to what religion they shall worship. In the United States we have special privileges that let the people of the country decide on their own religion and professions.