Value Of Freedom Essay

“Freedom.” It is a word with many different connotations, but symbolizes one central idea: Liberty. Freedom has always been deeply embedded in the history of our nation. Throughout time, many Americans have fought for freedom. From the Pilgrims, who set sail from England to the shores of Cape Cod to escape religious persecution, to the Founding Fathers of America who fought for freedom from England’s oppression, our fellow Americans have always fought for what they believed in. They gained certain freedoms that they thought would not only be important to them, but to future generations. However, it is evident that society today does not value those same freedoms.

To begin, an ethic that is no longer valued is the “freedom of every person to worship God in his own way” (Roosevelt 4). To America’s founding fathers, the freedom of religion was considered the first freedom. In fact it was the most important freedom that was “endowed by their creator” (Jefferson 2). Meaning, that it is a God given right that could not be taken from them.

However, in modern America, there are “signs that [society’s] historical commitment to this freedom is wavering” (Kidd 2). To clarify, it seems that American society no longer notices that this freedom is slowly vanishing from the hearts and minds of the American people. Leading to more individuals being pressured by the society around them to change as their moral beliefs do not resemble the majority that surrounds them. All in all, though the American people have been given the right to worship their own God(s), most Americans do not apply this freedom to their everyday lives. This leads more Americans to be intruded upon by individuals who do not respect the right of the freedom of religion.
Another freedom that Americans do not value is the “freedom of speech and expression” (Roosevelt 3).

As time goes on, it appears that the American people are slowly losing value of this freedom. It seems that “In our country we have [1] unspeakably precious [thing]: the freedom of speech and the prudence to never practice [it]” (Twain). Though the American people have been given the freedom of speech, they choose not to exercise it.This leads the government to attempt to censor this freedom “especially during times of national stress, like war abroad...” (ACLU). Since it is not evident that Americans value the freedom of speech, the government tests them to see how they will react. To see whether they will fight back. The point is that though the American people have been given the right to speak openly, they do not care to understand the usefulness of it, leading the government to test their resistance to the freedom of

speech.
Lastly, a freedom that is no longer valued is the idea that “all men are created equal” (Jefferson 2). Throughout time, discrimination aimed at a specific race has consistently arose and it is apparent that in modern society, racism has always occurred between multiple groups. These people who commit acts of discretion, known as “chivalrous whites” (Twain 2), believe that all men are created equal, but do not believe that colored men are classified as men. This idea has been debated throughout history, and has been continued to be to this day. The fact that American society still debates about this shows how society is questioning the rights that have been given rightfully to all American citizens. Furthermore, it shows how the Americans are denying not only the idea of equality for all, but all the rights and freedoms written in the Constitution. As can be seen, the idea of equality for all men, is slowly vanishing from America. This leads many people discriminate against people who are colored, meaning that some Americans are opposing not only the with of equality, but the constitution as a whole.