Josiah Smith AP English, 2B Abstract Definition October 15, 2013

Freedom
Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty I am free at last.(Martin Luther King Jr.) Freedom Its a word that is thrown around a lot. Freedom can mean the choice to do anything, but with consequences. The only question I ask now is; is freedom really free, and what are its boundaries? Freedom, there are amazing things about it, there are good times when society is free and we have freedom of anything, but then there are the times that we have to go to battle or war to get this freedom; such as the Civil Rights Movement. There are a lot of things that are necessary for freedom. Freedom is, according to the dictionary, The power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. It also says we have some freedom of choice, so why do we only have some, why not all? What is the diction of this saying? The diction is saying that we cant do everything because everything includes illegal things, so thats what it means. Seeing as we have freedom doesnt mean it is entirely free. There are many things that freedom can be, but it is not the right to do everything, every person should have the same freedom. Not more or less because of their skin color or their religion or how much money they make a year. This is a problem with freedom, the world can sometimes classify your freedom because of what you own, or who you are, or even what you stand for, and where is the freedom in that. Freedom is knowing that you have the right to make ones own choice while also

knowing the boundaries and the consequences of their actions whether it being good or bad. Freedom is the warm feeling that people have that knowing everyone is safe to practice their own religion, or have their own opinion. Freedom is the thing that individualizes America from the rest of the world. Freedom has a bad past that holds not only America but everyone back (Tracy), and everyone has that bad past that holds them back; freedoms past is horrifying. From slavery to the holocaust, freedom has a bad name for itself when it comes to the past, and its past is constantly brought up. There are a lot of times people mention slavery and the racism in relation to African Americans. This therefore is bringing up a lot of stereotypical comments, and some people were alive in the 50s and 60s so they were accustomed to this type of behavior towards black people. Meaning they dont think that their beliefs are wrong because thats what they are used to. Then they pass it off to their offspring, who also think that their elders arent racist. Thats how we have some people who are really racist to African Americans, and dont even know it. Freedom has its downside as well its not entirely always free. There is times like in court were freedom was unjustified, and freedom outside of America. Freedom should be worldwide not only in America. There are cases also when cops, and Im not classifying all cops, beat on African Americans for unjust reasons. That isnt freedom that is racism all over again. Also freedom is a good thing when it is really doing its job, but there are times we have to have war to gain or get freedom. So freedom is bloody and not always a good saint. Freedom has to go through hard times to give everyone else good times. Freedom is also written in rights, but its a different perspective for different people. Some people thought back then and even sometimes know a days that white people should have

more freedom than any other ethnicity and that they should have the Higher Ranks. While some rich people think that they are above the law or that they should be above the law because they have money and they are better because they have more money. No one should have different laws because of the way they were born or what country they are from or even based on their wealth because how is that fair. In conclusion, Freedom you are amazing and awful at the same time. You do a lot for our country even when you have to go to wars to find you. Freedom you are classified as different reasons whether it be good or bad.