What is freedom?

Question

As an American, I am constantly reminded that I am free. I hear freedom remarks everywhere, be it from an ad, tv show, or just somebody casually slinging the word around.

So the question is... What exactly is freedom? What differentiates us from the other countries? What exactly are we free to do that say, the UK cannot? I have had several people tell me you can't criticize the government in the UK due to legal reasons but this has been proven to be a rumor and invalid. Please, is there anybody that could shine some light on this subject for me?

Answer 1

Read the constitution, all your answers are there.

Answer 2

Freedom is being able do what you want to do without anyone saying you can't do that. As expressed in the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Read these fine documents to find out more.

Answer 3

Many modern countries have many of our freedoms because...get this...they modeled their government after ours!  Our "crazy little experiment" as they called our Constitution works.  The difference between ours and some others is ours is actually guaranteed in the actual outline of our country, not just by court precidents.  

In regard to less modern countries...well, you probably recognize the lack of freedoms.  Women don't have the same legal standing (case and point: the recent case in which a woman that was gang raped had to stand trial for being in a car without supervision: S.Arabia), the terribly oppressed people of the middle east (Iran and such, until recently including Iraq and Afghanistan until we helped).

We do indeed have more rights, better protected rights than any other.  And we have one more freedom that socialist nations do not:  the ability to make our own choices concerning our welfare...at least we have that for now.

Answer 4

What is freedom?

Safety from the tyranny of others.

It's not so much that we are free to do whatever we want, it's that others aren't free to do to us whatever they want.

Answer 5

being free..lol i guess