Are We Truly Free Analysis

Growing up in the United States, we were taught from a young age that we live in a free country, even in our national anthem it states that we are the “land of the free.” There are many people out there that believe we are free and others that believe we are not, but if we live in a free country, how can this be? In order to answer this question than we must first ask ourselves “what exactly is freedom?” The best definition that I can come up with is that freedom is the right to act, speak, and think as one chooses so long as it does not infringe on the rights of another or the control of one’s self. With this being said, another question arises, “are we truly free?” Though I would like to think that we are free, just like we are taught

If one chooses to talk to their boss in a degrading manner it could mean a loss of employment or promotion, but as you speak kindly and peacefully to your supervisor it could mean a better work environment, a possible pay increase, or a career opportunity. One might say that not having work does not make you free, but I would have to disagree. When you are not able to support yourself or your family then you are not free to choose what you want in your everyday activities. If the loss of you job causes you to be on food stamps than you have a dependence on others, those who pay taxes, to make this social program possible, therefore, you are not as free as you could be if you had a job. We all know that when someone talks to us in an uplifting and positive manner we feel better about that person and also ourselves and thus we are more willing to act in a positive manner, but on the contrary if someone speaks to us in a degrading manner we feel bad about ourselves and are not as willing to help or be our best person. It is the same when we choose to speak kindly to others; the better choice of words we make the better we feel and the freer we will become. Freedom, and the loss of freedom, comes through both the way we act and the way we speak. If we want to be free we will choose actions and words that help others thus in turn help our inner