What is Freedom?

As the fourth of July is upon us tomorrow, I pose a question to you.  What is freedom? Is freedom the ability to choose? And if so, is it the ability to choose what you are going  to buy, eat or wear? Having those freedoms are great, but what freedoms are worth fighting for? Google states that freedom means, “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”  We do have some of those freedoms in the United States, but not all of them. Could you imagine what it would be like if everyone could do anything that they want? More than likely the freedom that the men and women of the American revolution fought for was the second definition: “absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic government.”  One synonym that is listed is independence. This was the type of freedom that was worth fighting for.  The type of freedom that was worth putting yourself, and your family at risk for. This is something that most people today have no idea of.  As long as most individuals can go to a job that they choose, come home and watch some television, and say what they want on Facebook, then they are ok.  And then even if they are not ok, they are still mostly appeased. They are definitely not out fighting for their rights or freedoms.

As we imagine our forefathers this Independence Day as well as throughout our education, we may not realize that the founders of the United States of America did not all come together, and agree on a constitution.  At least not all at once. Just to write up, and sign the Declaration of Independence took quite some time, and by doing so, each man knew that they were putting themselves, and their families at great danger. The penalty at the time for treason was horrendous torture, and then public death. The freedoms that we do enjoy in the United States are from these original documents, and yet have come so far from where they  began. This fourth of July don’t just have a BBQ, and blow up fireworks. Take some time to learn about the sacrifices that have been laid out before you. Indulge in some treats, but also indulge in some knowledge. Find out what God given rights it is that you feel strongly about, and what it is that you can do to preserve them.

“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom – and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.” = Benjamin Franklin

Happy Fourth of July!