What does FREEDOM Mean to you?
By Danielle Breteau
I often hear the word “freedom” touted from every side of the room. Protect our freedom; keep us free; we live in a free country; fight for your freedom…and sometimes, sadly, I feel that people may not have a stronger sense of the meaning.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, people readily repeat “right to bear arms, or freedom of speech, religion, assembly, press…etc. but you can do a lot of that in many other countries. In fact, there are plenty of countries who offer even more freedoms if you actually compared them side by side, but in America, we choose to have laws that protect people and in turn reduce our freedoms. For example, Americans feel that we have freedom of speech, but in actuality, there are rules to that which makes freedom of speech, not as free as you might think, but those are laws that are meant to protect others against defamation, libel…etc. I’m not against that but then, that is not what I am talking about.
What I want to know is what does freedom mean to you?
Some examples I have received include:
“I value my freedom from the imposition of other people’s beliefs.”
“Freedom is the ability to do anything as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else in any way. It covers all activities from gun ownership to property freedoms. If it doesn’t harm anyone in any way, what is the problem?”
Please share your thoughts because this topic is important to us. We want to know and anonymously share your quotes with everyone.
Feel free to respond here or email me at: Dani@americanshootingjournal.com