What Does It Mean To Be Free Essay

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Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes." People often see freedom as doing as one pleases with no consequences or hindrance, but I do not agree. If we were free to make wrong decisions, how many of us would actually be free? The freedom we experience as Americans is the freedom to make the right decisions. That is what true freedom is. True freedom needs to be understood in order for us to not take our freedom for granted. True freedom is a virtue, beneficial, and is not lawless, which you can see in America's origins, but not in their social expectations. First, true freedom has virtue. To take freedom for granted is to see freedom without virtue; true freedom and virtue go hand in hand. Freedom according to dictionary.com is "the state of being free rather than in confinement". But what is a virtue? Virtue defined by dictionary.com is …show more content…

You can take freedom for granted if you see law as unbeneficial and confining. According to Galatians 5:13, we were "called to freedom", but to not use our "freedom as an opportunity for the flesh", and to use it to "serve one another". Here you can see the contrast between abusing your freedom and true freedom. We have the choice to use our freedom to do wrong to others, or to do good. True freedom is beneficial because it sets itself out to do good to others. In the same way, laws are not meant to confine us, but to keep us safe. Now imagine you are on a roof, and you have freedom to move about as you please. If there are no boundaries, you could easily go over the edge. Now imagine if there are boundaries, you have freedom to go about as you please, but feel safe that you won't fall over the edge. Laws are the same way, they are meant to benefit us, even if we don't see it. Therefore, true freedom must have regulation to remain virtuous. Freedom is not taken for granted when you see law as something that sets you

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