I agree with Richard Wright when he says "It was only in America where so much freedom is lacking that one hears long and impassioned arguments about freedom. It is like listening to a starving man tells of his need for food." If you think of America you almost automatically think of "the land of the free" but I honestly am not sure if that nickname suits us. Of course we are free and lucky compared to some people around the world; I believe it’s all about opinion. People have different definitions of being free. In the dictionary if you look up the word free it will say something like "
personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery". There are many secrets the government keeps from us so then again how can we be free and come together as a nationalistic country with so many secrets? How can we be free with secrets period? In my opinion we are slaves to the government so technically not free. However I would rather live in the United States than a lot of other places. We talk about freedom because that’s what our country and I believe every country should strive for and I believe we have come along way.
Maybe someday I will feel completely free in my country as other people from different places feel when they come here because it is more liberal than others. But As of now I and Richard Wright are on the same page.
Hi Julie -
ReplyDeleteThis is a good start - think about how you can be more specific - at one point you say the U.S. is freer than other countries but then you also say that we are slaves to the government. In what SPECIFIC ways are we freer, and in what ways are we slaves? How is your life contrained by the government on a daily basis?
I agree with you. we are slaves to our government, but thats because we choose to be. If more people showed an initiative to build a better government, to elect people who can truely better our contry on a moral basis and not just because of political/economic staus, we could possibly truely be the land of the free.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that the US is A LOT more free than other countries. People come here and are astonished, I'm curious though what kind of freedom do you think this contry is lacking in? Perhaps too much of a good thing is actually bad? About a year ago one of my teachers asked my class if maybe the general public "can't handle the truth", people were so eager to empty out Guantanamo bay but now they have no idea what to do with people who may be extremely dangerous terrorists- do we give them the rights afforded by being on US soil and risk them getting away and terrorizing the world or do we send them back to guantanamo? It's all very interesting...great post though Julie! You got me thinking lol!
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments, - we're going to look at the war on terror towards the end of the semester. Keep in mind that the reason people wanted people from Guantanamo freed was that they hadn't been convicted of any crimes. But we more often think about freedom for these 'others' - what about ourselves? Do you think Wright would view us as free in our daily lives?
ReplyDeleteI really agree with you Julie because i feel we are slaves to the government too however i wouldnt want to live anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI understand your point of view but lets be honest with ourselves. If the U.S decieded to give us personal freedom then what would this country be like? We arent completely free but it's the way it should be. As humans we need limits and someone to tell us right from wrong because if we were allowed to act as we pleased then how many people would be dead? How unsafe would walking down the street be? How would you feel if someone robbed you and no one would help you? He has the right to rob you, its his personal freedom.
ReplyDeletei totally argee with whay your saying about "I believe it’s all about opinion. People have different definitions of being free." we come from a world where everyone has a mix opinions about just about everything ! thats the way it goes ! qlad i have someone on my page =)
ReplyDeleteI agree with your agrument because we are more fortunate than other countries but at the same time we are still being denied some freedom that we are naturally born with.
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