CaitieBonner

I pretty much agree with you. I think the reason we go overboard with the "free" claim is because we have the freedom to vote. Wow. Once we vote the person into office, we, the people, don't have the freedom to overrule their rulings. And their rulings become law. If we don't agree with these laws, we can't break them. Freedom means being able to do anything you want. Does that mean that a 14 year old can get a lisence? A 16 year old can drink? Someone who's late to work can go 45 miles per hour over the speed limit? Of course not. I know those are extremes, but as you said, let's get real. If we are in fact free, there would not be any laws. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we have more privelidges than most countries and I love where I live, but free just simply cannot be a word to decribe us.

I pretty much agree with you. I think the reason we go overboard with the "free" claim is because we have the freedom to vote. Wow. Once we vote the person into office, we, the people, don't have the freedom to overrule their rulings. And their rulings become law. If we don't agree with these laws, we can't break them. Freedom means being able to do anything you want. Does that mean that a 14 year old can get a lisence? A 16 year old can drink? Someone who's late to work can go 45 miles per hour over the speed limit? Of course not. I know those are extremes, but as you said, let's get real. If we are in fact free, there would not be any laws. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we have more privelidges than most countries and I love where I live, but free just simply cannot be a word to decribe us.

I pretty much agree with you. I think the reason we go overboard with the "free" claim is because we have the freedom to vote. Wow. Once we vote the person into office, we, the people, don't have the freedom to overrule their rulings. And their rulings become law. If we don't agree with these laws, we can't break them. Freedom means being able to do anything you want. Does that mean that a 14 year old can get a lisence? A 16 year old can drink? Someone who's late to work can go 45 miles per hour over the speed limit? Of course not. I know those are extremes, but as you said, let's get real. If we are in fact free, there would not be any laws. Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we have more privelidges than most countries and I love where I live, but free just simply cannot be a word to decribe us.

Okay so we have all this freedom and stuff but who can really name or rather list all the freedoms that we have? I know I couldn't. I think that in the United States we should get real and realize what we really have because otherwise we look like fools when we portray all this freedom (so other countries want to be like us) and we really are clueless

I am sorry but I acutally really do think we are free. I mean in comparison to a lot of other countries we are a free. Freedom of speech, religion don't any of these things ring a bell to anyone?

Ashley, freedom of speach? Hello! where do u get this? People get thrown in jail for things they say if someone doesnt like it... yeah I guess ur right about the whole religion thing, but that doesnt mean we are free. If I were to go Bitch out Professor Jerz, I would probably get into trouble... *not that I would do that* its just that I could get into alot of trouble that way.

We are free. End of discussion ladies and gentlemen. We have the freedom to say certain things, it is our choice to say them and if we do say some things, there are consequences. If you really look at most, scratch that any other country you will see we're free to do whatever we want to do. Would you really want to live in a world without rules, Mary Bonner? This essay Todd Gitlin writes is not about freedom anyway, it is about whether or not the United States is as totally awesome as it says it is.