Drop out of high school, get fired from a job, stay at home watching TV, stay as a solo all your life, don't have any kids, don't pay your taxes and pay bills and get arrested, watch TV in jail, ignore the news and what generally goes on the world.
Don't obey the law and create havoc.
You repeat after me:
I am free
....great life....
People glorify freedom as is if it is what it is defined as. The right to do whatever you want. What people donrealize is that life isn't layed-out like a circuit board, it's layed out like a capillarie. No matter the combination of actions you take, you will always end up in the same pre-placed position (old and dying) just with different possessions and moral/ethical standards.
The definition of freedom in the American sense is that you are allowed to go to school free (public), and then after school you choose what career you may follow (the companies have the freedom to reject you for many reasons except certain qualities). From 18 - death you may choose to marry someone (or in the current case of homosexuals, just have a non-married partner). For the rest of your life you have the freedom to follow/pursue any (legal) interests or hobbies. When close to death (or anytime in life) you have the freedom to write a will that states what to do with your body (funeral) and who your possessions will be given to.
True American freedom can be found in the Bill of Rights.
We can speak freely in public, and in print, and can assemble without interference from the government (1st). We are free to arm and defend ourselves in order to secure a free state (2nd). We do not need to house the soldiers of the government against our will (3rd). We have a right to our privacy, and to keep the government from seizing our property (4th). We have the right to a trial by our peers (5th). We have the right to a speedy trial, a defense, to face our accusers, and to be informed of the reason(s) for our arrest (6th). We have the right to a trial by jury (7th). We cannot be issued excessive punishments (8th). No laws can be constructed to deny us our rights (9th). Unless we give our government power, it belongs to the people (10th)
As an American, to be free is to be free from your government.
Anyone can write down the norms of modern life and say; since we are all the same we are not free. But that would be a lie.
So in summary you can do what you (legally) want without government interference, and can tell the government to back off or help you in certain situations.
Without going into the political opinion void, yes.
(Note: My comment was not opinion, it is fact. Taken from the Bill of Rights and distilled to fit the character limits of a post)
It is accurate and that's I guess "what you are supposed to do" in this society, but you are free. You don't HAVE to do it. I was free to go to school and study what I WANTED because I WANTED to. Some people don't and it's ok, some people don't want kids, That's ok too..
I've never liked thisargument. Life is about making choices, and choices come with consequences. Depending on the choice you make, the consequences can either lead you to more freedom or less. You can exercise your freedom to smoke, but then you find yourself addicted, in which case your freedom has been reduced. The point is, you have to give up some "freedoms" in order to obtain greater ones. You have to choose between options because you can't always have both. Sometimes that even means you have to forego some good things for the sake of better ones.
Don't obey the law and create havoc.
You repeat after me:
I am free
....great life....
We can speak freely in public, and in print, and can assemble without interference from the government (1st). We are free to arm and defend ourselves in order to secure a free state (2nd). We do not need to house the soldiers of the government against our will (3rd). We have a right to our privacy, and to keep the government from seizing our property (4th). We have the right to a trial by our peers (5th). We have the right to a speedy trial, a defense, to face our accusers, and to be informed of the reason(s) for our arrest (6th). We have the right to a trial by jury (7th). We cannot be issued excessive punishments (8th). No laws can be constructed to deny us our rights (9th). Unless we give our government power, it belongs to the people (10th)
As an American, to be free is to be free from your government.
Anyone can write down the norms of modern life and say; since we are all the same we are not free. But that would be a lie.
(Note: My comment was not opinion, it is fact. Taken from the Bill of Rights and distilled to fit the character limits of a post)