Surname 1 Surname 2 Mehwish Elahi Danielle Stokes Freedom 01/21/2020 Introduction Hearing of the word freedom would make one think a lot especially in relation to the things that happen in our society’s today’s. This is because to me freedom refers to the situation where one is able to do whatever he or she feels like doing without the interference of anyone. To different people in the society, freedom could mean having the freedom to speak whatever they want, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression. For a nation such as the United States, having freedom of expression means citizens have the right to give their opinions publicly without anyone’s interference including the government. Under the United States constitution, everyone has the right to freedom. The Cambridge dictionary defines freedom as “the condition or right of being able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to, without being controlled or limited”. Others have defined freedom as the state of being not in prison while others referred to freedom as the rights provided in the constitution and the bill of rights. There are many meanings which have been put forward to explain freedom and that is why it is difficult to find one exact definition. Currently, we are thriving in a democratic society where there are laws are regulations that govern how you as a citizen should behave and conduct yourself. First of all, here your freedom is already being limited because you cannot behave however you want. In a civilized society, the freedoms of the people are limited and restricted using legislations as a means of tyranny. How living in a civilized society limits freedom It is clear that the constitution of the United States provides for the right to freedom for every citizen. And for most people, freedom has always been associated with the relationship between the government and its people. Whenever the government goes hard on some issues, citizens cry of their freedom. (Malinowski 3) says the greatest threat to freedom is democracy. Freedom expands to self-ownership, which is something we have lost in the current society. Private property is self-ownership including something one worked hard for to achieve. Therefore, does taxation allow for freedom? The fact that citizens are indebted to society explains the claim that people do not have freedom in society. Man is controlled by legislations that are tyrannical. Therefore, is the definition that freedom means to do whatever you want without being controlled valid? People are not indebted to society, but rather, they are indebted to actions that are meant to protect others from harm in order to co-exist in a society that accommodates everyone. For (Machiavelli 85), freedom of man is expressed with human independence, ability to make ethical decisions, and the ability of man not to be reduced into a playing toy by world rulers and forces. Forcing people to sacrifice part of what they have w.

1. Surname 1
Surname 2
Mehwish Elahi
Danielle Stokes
Freedom
01/21/2020
Introduction
Hearing of the word freedom would make one think a lot
especially in relation to the things that happen in our society’s
today’s. This is because to me freedom refers to the situation
where one is able to do whatever he or she feels like doing
without the interference of anyone. To different people in the
society, freedom could mean having the freedom to speak
whatever they want, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly,
and freedom of expression. For a nation such as the United
States, having freedom of expression means citizens have the
right to give their opinions publicly without anyone’s
interference including the government. Under the United States
constitution, everyone has the right to freedom. The Cambridge
dictionary defines freedom as “the condition or right of being
able or allowed to do, say, think, etc. whatever you want to,
without being controlled or limited”. Others have defined
freedom as the state of being not in prison while others referred
to freedom as the rights provided in the constitution and the bill
of rights. There are many meanings which have been put
forward to explain freedom and that is why it is difficult to find
one exact definition.
Currently, we are thriving in a democratic society where there
are laws are regulations that govern how you as a citizen should
behave and conduct yourself. First of all, here your freedom is
already being limited because you cannot behave however you

2. want. In a civilized society, the freedoms of the people are
limited and restricted using legislations as a means of tyranny.
How living in a civilized society limits freedom
It is clear that the constitution of the United States provides for
the right to freedom for every citizen. And for most people,
freedom has always been associated with the relationship
between the government and its people. Whenever the
government goes hard on some issues, citizens cry of their
freedom. (Malinowski 3) says the greatest threat to freedom is
democracy. Freedom expands to self-ownership, which is
something we have lost in the current society. Private property
is self-ownership including something one worked hard for to
achieve. Therefore, does taxation allow for freedom?
The fact that citizens are indebted to society explains the claim
that people do not have freedom in society. Man is controlled
by legislations that are tyrannical. Therefore, is the definition
that freedom means to do whatever you want without being
controlled valid? People are not indebted to society, but rather,
they are indebted to actions that are meant to protect others
from harm in order to co-exist in a society that accommodates
everyone. For (Machiavelli 85), freedom of man is expressed
with human independence, ability to make ethical decisions, and
the ability of man not to be reduced into a playing toy by world
rulers and forces. Forcing people to sacrifice part of what they
have worked hard to produce is not living in a free society. This
is a barbaric act. The thing that we must be able to pay taxes for
the protection of our rights is a total irony. People get jailed
because of failure to pay taxes. This is practically forcing one
to give you their self-ownership. What happened to the freedom
of will?
There are no voluntary actions anymore and maybe diplomacy is
a dream. Violence is being used to obtain harmony. For
example, a woman was arrested for failure to take her son to
school. There is a believe and legislations have been passed that
in a civilized society every child has to study. But what

3. happened to the freedom of the mother and the child? What if
the mother chose not to take the kid to school? What if the kid
decided he does not want to study? Hypocrisy has taken over a
civilized society. For example, we say corruption is wrong but
it is taking place in different governments right now. Slogans
like “the customer is always right” and “money talks”, are they
supposed to exist in a civilized society? The answer is
definitely NO because everyone has the right to express
themselves.
Democracy has taken over freedom. The government through
laws and legislations limits and restricts freedoms. For example,
(Farley 1) states that the court in its ruling of the case Schenck
v. United States in 1919 concluded that individuals do not have
freedom of speech that present danger. People who are having
peaceful protests in the streets are being arrested with the
accusation that they are dangerous. Protests are a means to
express their freedom of speech which is today subjected to
legislations under the law. In 2017, there was an article talking
about a school that wanted to punish those students who could
kneel during the national anthem yet the constitution
emphasizes freedom of religion. This clearly shows we are far
from achieving the freedom stated in the constitution.
We are living in a world where the majority decides. Most of
the government decisions and rules are made based on majority
rule. Meaning the minority have no right to speak. Their
freedom of speech and expression is not considered.
Interpretations given by the judiciary and methods of democracy
have given power to the majority in a nation that is supposed to
provide equal rights to everyone. (Hitchens p.30) quotes the
exact words of Thomas Jefferson “democracy is nothing more
than a mob rule, where 51 percent of the people may take away
the right of the other 49 percent”. With democracy defining a
civil society, then the civil society limits our freedoms.
Conclusion
Many definitions have been put forward by people trying to

4. explain what freedom is. One could say that the complex
definitions have probably led to the complexity that exists in
having freedom in the societies we reside in. it is true that
democracy has overtaken freedom. Man’s freedom has been
subjected to limitations and restrictions. A civilized society
expects you to behave in a manner and say things that are
approved by all. Currently our society is constructed by rules
and regulations that require us to behave in ways that benefit
other people. However, it is also important that people be
educated on their freedoms and responsibilities. For example,
the law requires every child to get an education. This may be a
choice for others following their freedom but when the time
comes, a learned person will get a good job, benefit themselves,
the community, and the nation as a whole.
Works Cited
Farley, Elizabeth, et al. "Schenck v. United States (1919)."
What is News and Who Decides? (2011).
Hitchens, Christopher. Thomas Jefferson. HarperCollins e-
books, 2014.
Malinowski, Bronislaw. Freedom and civilization. Routledge,
2015.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The prince and other writings. Simon and
Schuster, 2014.