A New Birth Of Freedom

Flags burning under raining bombs, gunshots echoing through a field of raining terror, while hiding underground for the day where humanity can roam free again; situations as so aren’t exactly what people imagine when thinking about one’s future. Every death was honored by those who lived; lives lost during wars of any kind are unlike lives lost in our country today, not for the value of those once living are greater than another, but from how much those lives mean to this day. Establishment and preservation of freedom wasn’t easy and will never be easy; many people served until their last breath, for the freedoms of our lives today. That is why we must continue to grasp for freedom, and to establish and preserve our freedom most effectively we must have the heart to be free, and have united dedication to freedom itself.

A brief summary about A Stride Toward Freedom: It gives a timeline of events ranging from Dr. King’s arrival to Montgomery, a journey that covers the bus boycotts through December 1, 1955 – December 21, 1956 of the South and then concludes with asking the important question located in the last chapter, “Where Do We Go From Here?” It focuses on MLK’s perspective of the people, events, and bus boycott procedures. A Stride Toward Freedom touches on not only a huge part of African American/Negro history but also American history with one of the first applications of nonviolent successful protest

In the Voices of Freedom, the passage explains the idea of American imperialism during the 1890s. It was written by a Filipino revolutionary and politician Emilio Aguinaldo. He was writing about the how the United States are taking over countries and limit their freedoms. Emilio's document was specifically describing the United States' occupation of the Philippines after the Spanish American War. The Question is that "Why does Aguinaldo think that the United States is betraying its own values?". Emilio thinks that the U.S is betraying its own value because they follow the practice of imperialism.

Is freedom really what we think it is? Has our perception of freedom changed over time? A simple definition of freedom is “the quality or state of being free.” (Webster’s Dictionary). Has this simple definition been twisted to match our own personal ideas and wants? Words like “liberty” and “independence” can also be associated with freedom, but do these words mean something different to different people? Although Webster’s defines freedom as the state of being free, that definition can become controversial depending on people’s views and understand of their freedoms as seen in the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech, and the freedom to experience life and liberty.

Shad Helmstetter once said, “Choosing to live your life by your own choice is the greatest freedom you will ever have.” It is important that people are able to choose the paths of their own lives. As the quote suggests, the ultimate freedom is choice. Nonetheless, many people are denied this ultimate freedom. In relation to Afghanistan, many women are denied the ability to choose the course of their lives. The oppression of women in Khaled Hosseini’s, A Thousand Splendid Suns, subjects them to total control by men, however, when the prominent woman characters in the novel, such as Mariam and Laila, are able to maintain a sense of control, they pave the paths of their own lives.

When you ask people what freedom is they may respond that freedom is when you can do whatever you want to do at whatever time. Mostly this will be the response of kids and young adults. But this definition of freedom is incorrect. Freedom is when we are allowed to have power of right to act without violating other people's freedoms or rights. The most effective tools for establishing and preserving freedom are strong government and constitution. A quote that can help out the claim comes from the Declaration of independence “We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their creator with unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.

The way the Americans gained independence may not be as valiant as it seems. The war lacked just war criteria despite many arguments. The idea was foolish and unnecessary and proved the lack of development amongst this young territory. Many factors lead to this premature uprising and the French and Indian War is a great reason for most of those factors. The decision by the American colonists to revolt against British rule was premature and overly aggressive.

In For Freedom’s Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer, Chana Kai Lee resurrects the compelling narrative of one of the most dynamic black women leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Lee provided the reader with an extended list of primary and secondary sources, providing intimate details that ultimately revealed Hamer as an exemplary individual who was chosen as a symbol of hope for Black Americans subject to constant injustices. Lee equally exposed Hamer’s pains along with her strengths and providing that balance gave the reader the opportunity to understand Hamer as the historic icon and the sharecropper’s daughter; “In any case, it is important to probe behind the fearless public figure to reach her private thoughts and feelings” (Lee, pg. 60).

The power or right to act, speak or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. A word created by man to escape the bonds of tyranny to express the idea of what it means to persist one's own ambitions. Freedom. Freedom is not the absence of confinement but the will to achieve freedom when imprisoned. After carefully concluding the reading done over this semester one is able to clearly understand the confinement these early Americans felt and their decision to achieve a form of freedom. Freedom has always existed but it is the history of this nation that will define what actions freedom takes.

O’Brien also has distinct feeling about his generation when he stated "I was the offspring of the great campaign against the tyrants of the 1940's, one explosion in the Baby Boom, one of millions come to replace those who had just died" (10). This quote in the book can be related to Give Me Liberty where the "baby boom" is a group of people that were born after World War 2 and before the mid-1960’s. He also felt those generational divides did not necessarily have regional boarders when he was told that regardless of nationality (American or Russian) or beliefs (Capitalism or Communism), that war produced the same deadly outcomes (61). I Compared this to Give Me Liberty where Forner stated that American aid poured into South Vietnam in order

Freedom is for everyone because they all have it. Freedom plays a big role in many lives like making their own business or homes and buying properties of their own. They can choose where they live or choose where they want to make a home and they can choose who they want to marry and they can choose what they want they to work as or what their company or specialty is.

The 1920s was a decade comprised of economic restoration post World War I. Americans often referred to this decade as the “roaring twenties” because of its economic boom, prosperity, and wealth. People of the 1920s began challenging traditional values in exchange for modern proposals. Standards changed from living in rural countries to living in modernized cities. Its technological advances and mass production of goods such as the creation of automobiles (from Mr. Henry Ford), radios, telephones, films, and electricity provided people more leisure than ever before, which gave them time to socialize by dancing, watching films, and drinking. Many believed that the United States’ economic changes provided them liberation from their restrictive past. Although some people benefitted from these changes, most unfortunately did not do as well. Many stated that the “new and modernized” economy of the United States made them uncomfortable and generated more conflicts than commemorations. The desire for freedom that various races, immigrants, women, and classes had during this decade were shown through their convoluted experiences and attitudes.

When martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed to the world that he had a dream, people stopped and realized it didn’t have to be just a dream. People didn’t just listen to what this leader had to say, they actually heard him, and they understood him. Society today reflects the hundreds of peaceful, or sometimes not so peaceful, protests held by leaders of our past and present that were heard and understood. Without peaceful protest to laws, segregation may still be in America. Same sex marriage may not be legal. Women may not have as many rights as they do now. Freedom today in America, for example, is different than freedom fifty years ago. Freedom today includes all peoples instead of a select few. Resistance to laws brought this free society farther

“Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over compensations for misery” (Huxley 221). In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, many of the characters question happiness and freedom throughout the novel. Brave New World suggests that we should seek something else in life rather than our happiness by having Lenina, Bernard and John, to compare and contrast the differences. Lenina believes she is happy and free in the World state that she lives in.

True Freedom is Uncompromising “Our constitutional liberties shall not be sacrificed in our search for greater security, for that is what our enemies and all enemies of freedom and democracy hope to achieve.” (Tammy Baldwin) Tammy Baldwin, a Senator of Wisconsin, explains how liberty should never be sacrificed for safety. Safety and security are often put ahead of freedom.