Preview

Is America Really Free?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
778 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is America Really Free?
Freedom is defined as the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement. It is the power to determine action without restraint and the exemption from external control, interference, and regulation. Americans, these days, commonly regard their society as the freest and the best in the world. Their understanding of freedom has been shaped and based upon the founding fathers’ belief that all people are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each person’s basic “inalienable” rights. The United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights assures individual rights including freedom of speech, press, and religion. America has changed dramatically from the country our founding fathers discovered. Some could even argue that we’re not really free at all anymore. Although in some ways people can argue that our country is still free, there is much evidence to prove this claim to be false. If America is so free, than why is it that we the people cannot make decisions for ourselves? Why is it that there are certain laws which restrain us from partaking in certain activities that really aren’t even harmful to us? Regulations and laws that prevent us from doing certain things are okay if there is a good reason behind it. The laws should be in place to protect the people, not restrict them from things non-harmful. Let’s take marijuana, for instance. Studies show that marijuana is much safer than typical tobacco cigarettes and many alcoholic beverages, if not all. Not only is marijuana safer, but it has been proven to provide medical benefits. Doctors have testified that marijuana is sometimes the only substance available to reduce pain in terminally ill patients. Shouldn’t that be enough evidence to prove its medical benefits? Yet and still Americans are unable to partake in the usage of this substance. Not only does marijuana reduce pain, but it also can be used to relax nerves as well as help people who suffer from insomnia. More people die every year

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The concept of freedom has been a highly debated topic since the creation of the constitution in the 1700's. Freedom can be defined in many different ways. In each definition, one commonality is apparent. Everyone is seeking freedom although has it ever actually been obtained? Is it possible to reach a state of being completely free? Of course not. Being free means having no limits or restrictions. In our world today freedom is only an idea, an unreachable concept that is constantly being chased.…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    FREEDOM – Americans commonly regard their society as the freest and best in the world. Americans’ understanding of freedom is shaped by the Founding Fathers’ belief that all people are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each person’s basic “inalienable” rights. The U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights assures individual rights, including provisions for freedom of speech, press and religion. No one single church dominates or controls in the US, there is a religious diversity.…

    • 2349 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Liberty is the principal that individuals should be free to act and think as they choose. In other words, it is freedom from “government interference”. As stated by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. In layman terms, the citizens of the United States will not have their religion, speech or press dictated to them; everyone has the right to practice whatever religion they choose, protest injustices without retribution, and can speak and write without the fear of punishment. In America today liberty is a big debate, as a melting pot country and the sperateration of church and state. The immigration laws that have been put in place in the last few years have taken the liberties away from aliens in this country. The other side of…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom is a difficult concept to grasp. Americans no longer believe that they have freedom. There is a negative connotation the goes along with it. People risk their lives everyday to ensure freedom for every citizen in the United States, yet they still complain. The authors within this essay summarize the idea of freedom, “When we face decisions involving…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The dictionary definition of freedom is The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint. But what is true freedom. In The American National Anthem, it claims that America is the “land of the free”, but what does that legitimately means. When you think of freedom, you think of the idea of being free,but that's not the case. If we are free, why do we have a government that watches our every move we compose on the internet. If we are free, why do we pay so many taxes and bills. If we are free, why do we have a lot of ridiculous laws that we have to follow every day. The point is that we are not actually free. Yes, we do have more freedom than other parts of the world, but we don’t have total freedom.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    American society, since the beginning, has always been built around the strength of one word; Freedom. Yet, somehow, “freedom” always seems to fall short of its whole significance.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the United States of America the citizens always use the concept of “freedom”, but why do the citizens of the United States of America call it “freedom” when they wake up, go to work, go home, sleep, and repeat. Is that really freedom or is it the government controlling us. Like always, Prince EA said, “Everybody dies, but not everybody lives.” To explain, this quote shows that people have the “freedom” to do anything, but the truth is that we really can not do anything we want because we have other problems to deal with. Also, we are controlled by the problems of having to deal with taxes, if we have enough money, etc. My third point, is that most people that are old are going to regret the things that they did not do, instead of actions…

    • 237 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Is The 4th Of July

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page

    Freedom is something American’s pride themselves and love about this country, however, if you actually think about the term “freedom,” how valuable could it be? According to “Rethinking the History of American Freedom,” freedom almost, if not always, was obtain by the restraint of others. For example, the 2nd amendment allows individuals the…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Freedom Means to Me

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Freedom- the ability to be able to do whatever you please. The right that we Americans are fortunate enough to possess and use in our everyday lives. Freedom has transformed lives, and formed others. Because of the freedom we have in the United States, our lives are significantly better than of those in other, more restricted countries. But as we often take this freedom for granted, it is a good thing to occasionally sit back and reflect on what true freedom means to YOU as an individual- and this is such an occasion.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America is famously known as the land of the free. People from across the world come to this country in search of freedom a person cannot experience anywhere else. People of this country cherish and use those freedoms everyday. We would be nothing without them. As Americans, we have the right to a fair trial by jury, to vote in elections for public officials, and to apply for federal employment. Most importantly, Americans have the freedom to follow the phrase “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Those rights are protected and will continue to be thanks to the brave men and women fighting for our country.…

    • 301 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom, in other words, is neither a commodity for dictators to distribute and deny at will nor a moral, spiritual, or political vacuum in which anything goes. Freedom is a priceless treasure that the state is supposed to safeguard. Why? Because human beings have an intrinsic right to be free, a right that comes not from the state but from God. To the Founding Fathers, this was a "self-evident" truth. It is the essence of the American experiment in self-government.…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ever since we were children we have been molded by society. At the store with our parents we wanted them to get us that “cool” toy that lights up and makes generic noises. When they said “no”, we were furious. The frustration of these incidents created a false hate for our own loving parents. Now we know of coarse that our parents didn’t hate us, they just couldn’t afford to buy the toy. Even though they worked every day for us, they still couldn’t afford it. When we were a little older we started to grasp this concept. This is when we realized that we needed money to buy things. If you have enough money, you can get your hands on whatever you want. This realization got us looking for jobs. In this paper I will ask the question “Are we free?” and argue some of my thoughts on how multiple institutions of society can have such a large impact on our lives.…

    • 595 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Freedom is being in the position of not being enslaved or imprisoned. It is the power to act, speak, or think whatever without restraint or impediment. Some people are born into freedom and never have to bare the struggles that most others go through to gain it. Many countries didn’t start off free and most of them aren’t still. The residents of multiple countries escape their homeland and move to other places for freedom and the knowledge that they are safer there than back at home. Freedom is never given, it is demanded and fought for. Benjamin Banneker and Martin Luther King Jr. demanded freedom in America, the Obamas pushed for freedom for young girls around the world, and Ahdaf Souief united with her peers and peacefully fought for freedom in Cairo.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is liberty and do we use it? Liberty is believed to us that it is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, political views, and/or the power or scope to act as one pleases. People think that individuals should enjoy the liberty to pursue their own interests and preferences and others think different. Why do you think we have law enforcement! It is even said throughout most of “The Declaration of Independence” that people abused their power and liberty and the that’s why we took independence in America. “The Declaration of Independence” even states that “Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.” Now, do we have liberty and do we use it? The answer to that question is yes. America does have liberty and we do use it. We, America, carry our liberty with pride and that is a good thing. The reason why that is such a good thing is because we prove that we have something that no one else has and that we, America, can keep…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What freedom means to me is people being able to do certain things that is fair for everyone for example, in school students heave to right to express them self on how they feel in the classroom and, about the teachers and students. In the real world we have the freedom of speech. Freedom to me is somewhat like rules to me. Even though rules and freedom are two different things they are similar. Rules are to keep a balance of right and wrong (more so right than wrong). Freedom is having the right to do what u want to do. In school we don't have freedom of dressing. They make us wear uniform and certain colors as well.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays