–noun
1.
the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint: He won his freedom after a retrial.
2.
exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
3.
the power to determine action without restraint.
4.
political or national independence.
5.
personal liberty, as opposed to bondage or slavery: a slave who bought his freedom.
6.
exemption from the presence of anything specified (usually fol. by from ): freedom from fear.
7.
the absence of or release from ties, obligations, etc.
8.
ease or facility of movement or action: to enjoy the freedom of living in the country.
9.
frankness of manner or speech.
10.
general exemption or immunity: freedom from taxation.
11.
the absence of ceremony or reserve.
12.
a liberty taken.
13.
a particular immunity or privilege enjoyed, as by a city or corporation: freedom to levy taxes.
14.
civil liberty, as opposed to subjection to an arbitrary or despotic government.
15.
the right to enjoy all the privileges or special rights of citizenship, membership, etc., in a community or the like.
16.
the right to frequent, enjoy, or use at will: to have the freedom of a friend's library.
17.
Philosophy . the power to exercise choice and make decisions without constraint from within or without; autonomy; self-determination. Compare necessity
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[Land of the Free (c) 3-29-08]
Land of the Free home of the brave
Land of disease home of the slave
Freedom of religion Freedom of speech
Freedom of press and freedom to breach
Freedom to steal freedom to take
Freedom to carry guns and Freedom to break
The laws of the man and the laws of the word
Freedom from peace but to still use the bird
The only home of brave and Land of the Free
The land who rules based off democracy
Freedom to starve and Freedom to be poor
Freedom to break and enter someone’s door
Freedom to lay off workers and close off jobs
Freedom to take what they want and to rob
Freedom of abortion Freedom of extortion
Freedom to own land and give everyone their portion
Freedom for action by any means necessary
But what their picture of that can really be scary
Freedom to wage war without our consent for our hours to be spent
Freedom to take our money then make us pay rent
Land of the prospering riches and of those who don’t care for the
People who live in the FREE old America
[Copyright 3-29-08 ©® Corey Threet]
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True freedom, or the closest thing to it is not truly as "free" as we think. Even in a country which bases its constitution and rights on the freedom of speech, the freedom to life and the freedom for the pursuit of happiness, the American citizens are constantly under threats of all sorts, both internal and external. In a country founded on freedom (not only in their constitution but that then wished to be free from Britain's rule over them) the Americans
are not free of the grip of fear, the feelings of paranoia, the risk of pain and oppression due to a neighbour or even a loved one. Freedom does not actually mean that you are free, it means that your capacity to act without a legal or personal consequence has expanded. This still does not mean that you are free to do as you please, as when one person's "freedom" is taken, another person on the other side must, in turn, "lose" a part of their "freedom". It's kind of like Newton's Law where with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This can also apply when groups or people's protest to certain laws passed to "improve society" or at least to benefit a certain peoples freedom and rights. It will always be impossible to give anyone or any people the ability to do anything without negative side effects. America even includes guns in its amendments. It is the SECOND amendment, directly after the first amendment which refers to every person's right to freedom of religion, of the press and freedom of expression. I find this such a bizarre occurrence. It's understandable why this amendment was passed, but only in the context of the time period. The Colonies, which would later become the United States, were constantly under the threat of attacks from both the French and the Native Americans. Under these conditions, it's easy to understand why the people felt that ordinary citizens should be able to legally own a firearm and to use them. The problem is that these weapons, which are meant to protect the freedom and rights of the people, are also being used against their neighbours. The very law put in place to uphold their freedom has become the thing which, everyday, destroys someone's rights, be it their right to life or the pursuit of happiness, or their freedom of expression or speech. In this way, I believe their freedoms and rights actually lead to the oppression of other peoples freedoms and rights. Such events can be seen in many parts of the world, and even in literature like "Lord of the Flies". The children on the island feel that as they are on an uninhabited place, segregated from society, they now have the freedom to do what they want, at least until they are rescued by their own people. As the story progresses, they put in place a mock government of sorts, a primitive tribal sort of society. Even with the "complete freedom" to do what they want, they still feel the urge to bring in rules to prevent harm and negative consequences from happening. This shows that even with the ability to be unrestrained by anyone, even your own kin, we still need a power "above" our own (or at least what we want to believe knows better than ourselves) to regulate our behavior lest we return to our instincts to base our judgment and actions on.
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This picture struck me as illustrating some elements concerning the subject of freedom. The cage seems to be the constraints we feel are on ourselves, which are alienating our freedoms. I feel that these are actually just the rules which have been deemed as necessary for our society to run smoothly, or at least as near to perfect as we currently can. The doll face is sort of like a mask of a person. It doesn't have an identity of it's own, and can then represent anyone, as a mask removes personal identification with others. The fact that only have the face has been put into this cage is saying that a big part of ourselves is outside these bars. You can say that it is the part of us that has natural rights we are born with, or at least that this is what we imagine what our being would look like. In reality, we are "free" to do what we want, where we want, when we want to. The only thing stopping the majority from doing so would be society itself. We are taught from a young age, through personal experience, or from the influences of those around us, what is morally right and wrong. We have these thoughts preventing us from doing certain things which are generally accepted as wrong, bad, or evil. The other side is that we are kept at bay through the power of fear. The fear of doing wrong, the fear of hurting others and the fear of the consequences.
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[Work Cited]
Definition: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/freedom
Poem: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/land-of-the-free-c-3-29-08/
Picture: http://bugatha1.deviantart.com/art/Caged-Doll-Head-58809236?q=boost%3Apopular+caged+head&qo=30)
