To What Degree Are We Free?

To what degree are we free? Being a United States citizen means freedom, for most people. America has not always been a free country though. There are still attitudes that can oppress individuals of all aspects of life; race, religion, disability, political alignment, gender, etc. In Unit 13 we learned of philosopher Karl Marx. In today's society we can relate to what he said about the relationship between workers and the corporation, the 1 percenters if you will. This being an election year, I have a quote of Mr. Marx that was not in our readings but one of my favorites; The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them. We as a civilization have the opportunity to vote. This is one of our freedoms, voting is something that used to be important. It was something worth fighting for. If we don't exercise our right to vote, others will elect people to roles that can change things for the negative or prevent changes for the good. I think we have a lot of freedoms but more importantly how are we going to protect or preserve them and continue to improve for future generations. I feel like if we do not use the freedoms available to us they could disappear without our knowledge. Yes that's slightly dramatic but there is truth to that. If we are just robots that go through life on auto pilot and let whatever happens happen, what will life be like for those in generations to come? People want to become U. S. citizens for many reasons, most like the freedom our country is known for. The quote I used is a sarcastic tone for me. It tells me that we can continue with whatever is holding us back or we can do something about it. This applies to everything not only voting but also your job, education, even a relationship or partner. Take advantage of things that we can, I linked this post to voting because so much can be done if you get people who you want to represent you in an office. That can be locally and nationally. Not just thinking about yours and my own benefit but generations to come. Thinking about outside of our walls and what it's like in another person's shoes. What do they need? How could we make this an even better place to be? You and I can be as free as we want (with consideration of laws). There is and always will be room for improvement. Of course there will be certain freedoms that you won't have use for, but there must be a majority out there that does. We can and should respect individual rights. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. We can be still and stay on auto pilot while the world moves on or we can do something about it. Take action, take charge, and be a leader to change for the good.

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