What is the Meaning of Freedom?
In response to the first post, KayYan Lee suggested that we needed to define freedom before we could evaluate the significance of the 13th Amendment. What exactly do people mean when they use the word freedom? Examine the chronological list of quotations about freedom.
1. Which statement about freedom comes closest to your own beliefs? Explain.
2. Do any of these authors appear to disagree with each other? Explain.
3. Write your own twenty-first century definition of freedom.
Euripides, Greek dramatist (484-406 BC). "Greeks were born to rule barbarians,... not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood."
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman (106-43 BC). "Freedom is participation in power."
Christian New Testament, Galatians, 5:1. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (1771). "The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought."
James Madison, United States President (1788). "I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
Rosa Luxemburg, German socialist (circa 1900). "Freedom is always freedom for the man who thinks differently."
Rabindranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (1861-1941). "He only has freedom who ideally loves freedom himself and is glad to extend it to others. He who cares to have slaves must chain himself to them. He who builds walls to create exclusion for others builds walls across his own freedom. He who distrusts freedom in others loses his moral right to it."
Franklin D. Roosevelt, United States President (1934). "The freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected - but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap, or violate laws against obscenity, libel and lewdness."
Franklin D. Roosevelt, United States President (1941). "(W)e look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world. The
second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way - everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want - which...means economic understanding.... The fourth is freedom from fear, which means...a world-wide reduction of armaments..."
Theodor Adorno, 20th century philosopher (circa 1950). "People have so manipulated the concept of freedom that it finally boils down to the right of the stronger and richer to take from the weaker and poorer whatever they have left."
Martin Luther King, Jr., American Civil Rights leader (1963). "We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed.... Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself, and that is what has happened to the American Negro."
Rudolph Giuliani, Mayor, New York City (1994). "Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do and how you do it."
George W. Bush, United States President (2005). "In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. . . . By
making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear and make our society more prosperous and just and equal."
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19 comments:
Cunningham Shareece Charles
Class 806 Sept.17.2007
The statement that comes close to my definition of freedom would be Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected- but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap, or violate laws against obscenity libel and lewdness.”I agree with Mr.Roosevelt because I think that freedom is the ability o be outspoken and have an open mind but not take advantage of the situation.
Euripides and President Roosevelt seem to have different perspectives on the meaning of freedom. President Roosevelt says “…freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected- but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap…” On the other hand Euripides says “Greeks were born to rule barbarians…not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood.” Euripides is stating that barbarians are slaves and they don’t have any choice by nature. Which means they don’t have freedom. Though President Roosevelt clearly states that “freedom is not to work children” this also goes for barbarians which are people too.
My definition of freedom would have to be being able to speak your mind and being able to fight for what you believe is right. I believe this is freedom as long as you don’t take advantage of the freedom that you get.
The quote that is most similar to my definiton of freedom is Rabindranath Tagore's definiton of freedom because he talks about one having freedom and sharing it with ohter, he thinks that if one person has freedom, others should to and you shouldnt take advantage of your freedom also.
The two quotes that seemed to disagree with eachother were Euripides's and Rosa Luxemburg's quotes Rosa talks about everyone having freedom, people just dont notice it or take it for granted while Euripides quote says only Greeks had freedom and barbarians were their slaves, the barbarians were not "born with freedom" unlike the Greeks.
And finally, my definiton of freedom would be doing whatvever you want. But also, the right to make your own decisions, its your choice, you choose whatvever you want to do without taking advantage of somebody while doing it, you cant take away there freedom niether.
The statement that comes close to my definition of freedom would be Christian New Testament, Galatians, 5:1. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."I agree with Galatians because I know that Christ died for us. He let us all free by opening the gates of heaven. He suffered his life for us. I think that Euripides, Greek dramatist (484-406 BC). "Greeks were born to rule barbarians,... not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood." is disagreeing with the Galatians because they are saying that the Greeks have freedom in there blood but Christ gave them the freedom. My definition of freedom would be being able to do what you want with out getting in trouble. You can not take advantage of the world and laws
The statement that is almost the same as my idea of freedom is Franklin D. Roosevelt, United States President (1934). "The freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected - but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap, or violate laws against obscenity, libel and lewdness."This comes close to my idea of freedom because it shows you have limits to your freedom.It also shows that you can't always do anything it shouldn't interfeer with anyone elses freedom.
The one that that disagrees with Mr. Franklin D. Roosevelt is by George W. Bush, United States President (2005). "In America's ideal of freedom, citizens find the dignity and security of economic independence, instead of laboring on the edge of subsistence. . . . By
making every citizen an agent of his or her own destiny, we will give our fellow Americans greater freedom from want and fear and make our society more prosperous and just and equal." I think it disagrees because of it's lack of limits. That will tell people that they can do anything but it just shouldn't break the law. Thats like not caring for other people and their freedom with their rights and just breaking it.
My definition of freedom is all about limits because without them the world would go crazy. People would do anything without caring they wouldn't listen to anyone.The limits would keep them in there place and it wouldn't harm other people to do something. The things people need to watch out for when there doing something is if it's affecting the other persons freedom.If it is they should really think twice about what there about to do. So no one would take advantage of anyone else thats what I think about freedom.
The quote that is similiar to my definition of freedom is Franklin D. Roosevelt. I agree with what he said because freedom is for everyone to say with what they think. Also he said that freedom is for everyone and not for only the people who deserves it because everyone does.
The two people who disagreed with each other about freedom were Rosen Luxemburg and Samuel Adams. Both of them disagree with each other about freedom because Rosen Luxemburg thinks that freedom is for a person who thinks differently than others. For Samuel Adams freedom is for people who valued freedom and fought for it.
For me I think that freedom is something that everyone should be able to do. Freedom is for people who wants to do something that they like and can. But for stealing and hurting other people that is a different kind of freedom. Although you have the rights to do whatever you like you shouldn't take advantage of the situation.
The quote Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote about freedom is similar to mine. I think that everyone has the right to speak what they want to. He also said that there is freedom of expressions too.
The two group who disagree with each other about freedom is the Greek and the Christian New Testament. Greek said that they have the freedom to control the people.But the Christian New Testament said that they do not submit to a yoke of slavery.
My definition for freedom is that people are free do whatever they want to. They also shouldn't take advantage of it to. For instance, hurting someone or stealing. You should not go against the law unless you think the law is unfair.
I beleive Rosa Luxemburg which was a german socialist came closest to my definition of freedom. This is what Rosa Luxemburg said," Freedom is always freedom for the man who thinks differently." I would say Rosa has a great definition because every person can have a different view of freedom and its acceptable to have different views.
I think George W. Bush's freedom definition was different for the reason of hes talking about the economics instead of what people beleive in. He seems to focus on what they can get by working instead of the things they would be allowed to say.
My definition of freedom is that everyone can have their own definition and opppinions and they are able to share that openly.
My freedom statement comes close to the one Franklin D. Roosevevelt said in 1941. It says there are different kinds of freedom and they are not all the same. I believe "freedom" is just another word for saying we have the right to something as long as we follow the rules and don't take advantage of it. Although Roosevelt's freedom speech said that there is freedom of speech and expression, and to pick your own view on god, it might mean something else to somebody else.
Many of these heroes have different points of views on the word "Freedom". But the most unlikely was Martin Luther King Jr. and Rudolph Giuliani, because Martin Luther King was talking about a different kind of freedom. He was talking about African Americans not getting what they deserve and the freedom they want. But Giuliani was talking about how freedom is a person's way to getting things and doing what they want by following laws.
I think freedom is when a person gets what they want and what they deserve for their actions, anddoing it under the laws. Even though a lot of people may think freedom is doing whatever they want, I think it is much more complicated than that.
The statement that comes close to my definition is Franklin D. Roosevelt.” Freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected- but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap, or violate laws against obscenity libel and lewdness.” It is close to my definition because it says that we cant bring other people in our definition of freedom.
The person that disagree with Franklin D Roosevelt isMarcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman (106-43 BC). "Freedom is participation in power." this sentence is saying that you can do what ever you want to do without limitations. They both have 2 different meanings but I do not like Marcus Tullius Cicero theory of freedom.
My definition of freedom is that people can do anything they want but they have to know when to stop. You also have to know when you are including people for unjustice.
Samuel Adams beliefs comes close to my belief. Why does samuel Adams belief comes close to my belief? Samuel Adams says " the truth is all the might be free if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought". I say if everyone thats not free and they fight for their freedom it will be better for them. If people fight for their rights they would get the freedom they expected. In my oppions I think if there was slaves now, and the slaves don't fight back for their rights no one would of ever bring it up. Like Rosa Park's situtation, if Rosa Park's never brought up how she felt about the racism that African Americans have to give up their seat for the Whites. Rosa Park's was sent to jail but she still was respected by the African Americans. Sooner African American's Began to fight for their rights. Rosa Parks finally recieved her freedom that she expected. That is like Samule Adam's Belief "The truth is all the might be free if they valued freedom and defended it as they ought". The way Samuel Adams belief came close to my belief, it explain about fighting for freedom.
In my oppions I don't think any of these authors disagree with each other. Why do I think this? In my oppions all these authors describe's their way of freedom. I don't think the arthur's are disagreeing with each others. I think all the arthurs are trying to describe their point of freedom. The arthurs are trying to show how they feel about the freedom around them. In the quates the arthurs are basically exaplaining freedom. I don't think the quate arthurs are disagreeing with anything because they have the same thoughts. This is why I think that the arthurs are not disagreeing with other arthurs.
Freedom is the way of being fair and everyone is treated the same. Freedom to me is doing things I can do and want to do and what I do is freedom for me. What is freedom? Freedom to me is having rights to join,vote,volunteer things that people won't judge by the way I am. Freedom is a way of expressing myself without saying who I am and show who I am. Freedom is to have the rights to do anything with out getting into trouble.This is what freedom means to me.
Out of all the statements the one that is by Franklin d. Roosevelt is similar to mine. It is similar and I do agree of what Mr. Roosevelt because I also agree that freedom is for everyone and is what they think freedom is to them. He said that freedom is not just for people who need it because everyone needs freedom.
The two people who disagree with each other about freedom are the Greek and the Christian New Testament. The Greek said they have the freedom to control the people. And the Christian New Testament said that they do not submit to a yoke of slavery.
To me freedom is a thing that everyone should have. Freedom should be something you would like to do and you could do that thing. But if you use this freedom to do wrong things like robbing somebody that is wrong and barely freedom. Even if you have freedom don’t take advantage of it and do the wrong thing.
The statement about freedom that most closely resembles my own is President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 quote.
"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world.
The second is the freedom of every person to worship G-d in his own way - everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want - which means economic understanding....The fourth is freedom from fear, which means...a world wide reduction of armaments..."
This quote about freedom really reflects my own mainly because it's about more then just one freedom, it involves many. Freedom to me means many things not just one thing. The first freedom Roosevelt describes freedom of speech and expression. As Americans we are guaranteed the right to say whatever we want and express ourselves any way we want without fear of repercussions. The second freedom is being able to worship any G-d you choose and be able to practice any religion you choose again without any repercussions.
The third freedom Roosevelt discusses is "the freedom from want". I think this freedom is one of the main reasons that people immigrate to this country to begin with. The freedom of not being economically oppressed as they would have been in their native lands and having the chance to come here and chase their "American Dream". This economic freedom is essential to many of the people who come here. The fourth freedom that Roosevelt described is one that since the attack of September 11 is a freedom we didn't realize we had and how lucky we were to have it until we almost lost it. The freedom to live everyday and not be afraid.
Many of the authors seem to disagree with each other on how they describe freedom and what it means to them.
The two that seem to contradict each other the most are Euripedes and the Christian New Testament.
Euripedes who said "Greeks were born to rule barbarians...not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood". This quote almost directly contradicts the New Testament one that said " For Freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery". Euripedes felt that you weren't free unless you were controlling someone weaker, while the New Testaments quote means that you are only truly free if you never allow yourself to be controlled or oppressed.
My best definition on freedom is that it has many branches.
There are the basics, freedom of speech and expression. Freedom to worship and practice any religion you want. The freedom to earn an honest living and live comfortably and enjoy your life. I also strongly agree with what President Roosevelt said that we should be free to live without fear. If there were less guns or armaments as he called them people would live more freely without having to fear other people or terrorism.
"Freedom is always freedom for the man who thinks differently." This is the quote I think closest to my own beliefs, because everyone has there own meaning of freedom. Some people think slavery is better than freedom because with slavery, slaves had a home, and food. Now, with the 13th amendment, freed slaves don’t know how to live on their own. There slave masters provided them wit a food and shelter; how can they survive on their own.
(Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman (106-43 BC). "Freedom is participation in power." Christian New Testament, Galatians, 5:1. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand fast therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.) I think quotes don’t agree with each other because one quote means that fighting is the only way to be free. The other quote means that because god gave us freedom, no one can take that away from us. Even with slavery, we still have our freedom because we can still run away from slavery to different places where slavery isn’t provoked.
For me, freedom means peace. It means that slavery has ended, and people live amongst others not with hatred but with peace. It also means that friends can be made, and that people can go to the same school with respect, not disrespect. People living freely amongst others is my definition of freedom.
The statement about freedom that comes closest to my beliefs is the statement that Franklin D. Roosevelt gave in 1941. I think that everyone should have there own freedom of speech and expression. What kind of freedom would it be when you can not express what you feel and say what you want to say. Another reason that I agree with Roosevelt is because he said “freedom of every person to worship God in his own way". If we were al forced to believe in one thing or a specific thing, I don’t think that would be counted as freedom. To me freedom is when you believe in your on god, which ever one you believe in, and maybe you don’t even believe in god.
A couple of people that I think disagree with each other are the Christian New Testament and the Greek dramatist. In my opinion, they are completely different quotes. The first is saying that Christians were set free, and that they (and no one else) should be forced to become a slave, and the second is saying that everyone, except for Greeks is a barbarian (and should be a slave) where Greeks are free, by blood.
In my own words and opinion, I think that being free is when you are to make your own choices and opinions (like what I am doing now). I think that you are free when you are allowed to do what you wish, but that does not include breaking obvious laws that are good for the society. For and example, shooting someone, or under aged drinking would not be some of the rules that you would break.
The definition of freedom that most relates to my definition would be Samuel Adams because he said "the truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought."I think this means that if you want freedom you have to earn it and defend it from those who try to take it from you.
Euripides and Samuel Adams have different and opposite meanings of freedom.What Euripides is saying is that Greeks have freedom in their blood meaning greeks always have freedom while barbarians have no freedom and cant get it.Samel Adams says that anyone can have freedom as long as they earn and defend it.
My definition of freedom would be that freedom is something you ave to earn through hard work and determination and anyone who thinks differently obviously doesnt know what freedom is.
The statement that came closest to my beliefs of freedom would of had to be Samuel Adam`s statement .I chose Samuel Adams statement because he states” The truth is all might be free if they valued freedom.Which means you can have freedom if you only believe in your self. If you believe freedom is being free. Then you believe that. If you believe freedom is going about and doing anything as you please. Then believe that. I think that there is no correct definition of freedom. It only depending on your beliefs. have trust in your believes then it will be true. Samuel also says “Defeated it as a ought”. Which i think means you can defeated it which as might as you can.
Yes alot of these authors seem to disagree with each other. Rudolph and Theodor. Rudolph think that freedom is about authority which means the power or right to give orders and make decisions. So he thinks he has the right to rule anybody. Theodor feels that people took the power of having a little of power and took it and crumbled it like it didn't mean anything to them until they go weaker and weaker and poorer.
I think freedom is having the right to breath on earth,the right to speak when you think somethings wrong. Or having the right to walk. Also i think freedom is the right to have right have and power of what you say.
The statement that comes closest to my definition of freedom is Franklin D. Roosevelt, United States President (1934). "The freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected - but it is not freedom to work children, or to do business in a fire trap, or violate laws against obscenity, libel and lewdness." This comes closest to my definition of freedom because everyone has a limit in what you can do. That means u can do anything you want but not interfering with other peoples freedom.
The Euripides and president Roosevelt has a disagreement for the definition of freedom. The Euripides says, "Greeks were born to rule barbarians... not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood. And Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "The freedom guaranteed by the Constitution is freedom of expression and that will be scrupulously respected - but it is not freedom to work children… Franklin D. Roosevelt says that freedom is not to work children and the Euripides says that the barbarians are slaves by nature.
My twenty-first century definition of freedom is to do anything you want but you have to have limits. If people do not have limits then everything would be going wrong. Your limit is not to interfere with other people freedom. Having limits can help people from harming other people’s freedom. That is my twenty-first century definition of freedom.
The one author whom I agree with in their opinion about freedom is Franklin D. Roosevelt, United States President (1941). "We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world. The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way - everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want - which...means economic understanding.... The fourth is freedom from fear, which means...a world-wide reduction of armaments..." I agree with his quote because freedom is mostly about the ability to express your speech and the freedom to worship and believe in god any way you want. I believe Franklin Roosevelt and I have the same idea about freedom because we both believe everyone should have those rights and no one has the right to take it away from us.
Some of the quotes that I disagree with is “Samuel Adams, American revolutionary leader (1771)."The truth is, all might be free if they valued freedom, and defended it as they ought." I disagree with this quote because in this he is blaming people for not standing up for themselves. Some countries without much power where invaded by stronger rulers that took away the freedom of the people living there so in which case they had no choice but to obey. Also if they would fight back they would get killed and those who try to escape, would get thrown away into a jail or get killed. I also disagree with the quote “Euripides, Greek dramatist (484-406 BC). "Greeks were born to rule barbarians,... not barbarians to rule Greeks. They are slaves by nature; we have freedom in our blood." I strongly disagree with this quote because in my opinion and according to my beliefs I say that nobody should have their freedom taken away just because they are a certain religion or race.
My definition of freedom is that everyone should have the right to have freedom of speech and freedom to believe and worship god any which way they want to. No one should be forced to be one religion, I believe that god gave us these rights and no one should take them away from us. Many people say the definition of freedom is to be able to do what they want, but they aren’t specific enough. It definitely does not mean to have rights to do exactly what they want whenever we want, because so many people believe this, this is why we have specific rules and laws.
The meaning of freedom from Rose Wilder Lane is close to my meaning of freedom.Her meaning of freedom is the freedom to control of self.Her meaning of freedom also means "we seek liberty to use our resources,time,intelligence,and energy in the most benefical way".Her meaning of freedom states that each of us must take the consequences of our actions, good or bad."You just have to have faith" is what she said. Trying to convince others to live the freedom ideas through sloguns and speeches is usually short on results.Rose Wilder Lane believes the most effective way to spread the freedom idea is to educate ourselves and raise our children to be honest,knowledgeable,
confident,and responsible lovers of freedom to light a single candle. If each one of us lights another candle, each of those follows suit, the freedom ideas will grow from a quiet small fire into a whole wildfire which burns the path it encounters.I agree with all she said because I personally believes that freedom can be chosen, but if chosen one should take full responsibility.
In my opinion freedom means "given by god the rights to choose". Freedom also means control of self and political independence.In my opinion people should have the freedom to speak, choose, and even kill. However, self control is what comes in this point.We also have the ability to tell wrong from right and to not take advantage of the freedom we are given.
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