Land Of The Free Analysis

Has America always been true to its ideals of freedom reigning throughout its people and diverse culture? Throughout history the relationship as well as interactions between Native Americans and eager-faced settlers have been at the least discriminatory. "America the land of the free, home of the brave," this iconic line has seemed to be America's anthem time and time again. Throughout the periods and trials involving Native Americans and other settlers, this theme has seemed contrary in the Indians eyes.

Since the beginning of A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, the protagonist of the novel Ishmael endeavors to flee from the hardships enkindled by the RUF rebel organization that has amalgamated the country of Sierra Leone, officially making it a war zone. Moreover, for more than two years Ishmael has attempted to escape from the rebels, moving from village to village, rummaging through abandoned homes. Seemingly, the rebels would make their way to Ishmael, sweeping all villages. Deprived of food or any sign of hope surviving as a “lone wolf”, Ishmael enlisted in the Army of Sierra Leone to fight against the radical organization. Ishmael risked his life for the prime purpose of surviving and to pursue freedom. Furthermore, self-determination was one of the reasons for such bravery, but it was also due to specific objects that aided in Ishmael’s journey for freedom. Nonetheless, in his literary work, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah uses symbols to underscore his central theme of oppression and/or freedom. The most evident symbols that accentuate the theme of oppression and/or freedom are the moon, the rap cassette tape, and the AK-47.

In the 1780’s when America was approaching on a new era, Hector St. John de Crevecoeur and Benjamin Franklin believed that America had become the freest and most prosperous nation in the world. They went so far as to say that America had become a country unlike any other. A country that was free from things such as poverty, inequality, and all other forms of oppression, things that European nations lacked. Over the next century (1800-1900) what we saw in America was not symbols of freedom and equality for all, but instead for a select few. Instead we saw great inequality and a lack of freedom in many groups such as African Americans or slaves, women, as well as Mexicans and Native Americans. The members of these groups were met with

Although the United States was built on the idea of freedom for all, it’s clear, looking back at the treatment of certain groups of people, that “all” didn’t really include everyone. This is evident from the moment we landed in the New World and ravaged Native American’s and took their land, forcing them from their homes. And, even more so, in the unimaginable treatment of enslaved men, women, and children alike. As Frederick Douglass pointed out in the narrative of his life as a slave: Slavery, though often justified in the name of Christianity, was far from a Christian institution. Moreover, the presence of slavery proved that most of the United States was more so an immoral and unjust nation than anything else.

There is still discrimination, gender favoritism, and immigrant restrictions. The definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. People in America have freedom compared to the rest of the world, but what about the freedoms for people that are not our own. For example, an illegal immigrant cannot work, go to school, or live a normal life without some form

The Gateway to Freedom is an enticing novel that gives further knowledge of racial discrimination and the social inequality of blacks at the time of slavery and how the Underground Railroad combatted this through the different committees and activists of the time. This essay will focus on how the Underground Railroad affected family, economy and religion- the social institutions, those who operated the Underground Railroad were diverse and have different reason for following the abolitionist movement, and not all the committees are made equally.

Jaweed Kaleem, in his article “In the ‘land of the free’, are you free to sit out the national anthem?” explains the controversy around the subject of not partaking in the national anthem, and why it’s not solemnly based on the assumption that the individual is disregarding the country or the people that protect it but rather an act of protest towards the prejudice and inequality that the black community continues to face. Kaleem supports his explanation by bringing up esteemed athletes such as Colin Kaepernick and renowned professors like Peter Dreier who are educated on the matter, and continuously advocate for it whether it’s using their social media platforms like Kaepernick or frequently writing articles on sports politics like Dreier.

America is one word that brings the hope of freedom to many people around the world. Since the United States’ humble beginnings freedom has remained at the core of its ideologies and philosophies. People of all races, nations, and tongues have found refuge in America. The National Anthem proclaims, “…land of the free, and home of the brave” (Key, 1814). But has America been consistently a land of the free? Unfortunately freedom has not always reigned. There is a constant struggle to overcome fear and prejudice in order to provide a true land of freedom. In times of heightened tension, the masses of common people seek to find a scapegoat. Often, this scapegoat is a minority

The U.S.A is widely perceived to be a nation of freedom by other countries but it seems very restrictive on some issues it has been battling since it was founded. America’s population needs to change many things before it can truly be name the “Land of the free”. The definition of freedom is flexible but it’s doubtful that discrimination and intolerance is in any of them.

In the developing stages of America, many Americans had a very hard time adapting and accepting people of different backgrounds. America has battled the war on our civil liberties all the way from the 1800s until now. The law that was passed to protect the people of the United States from certain things has caused more damage then it was intended to do. America has many loopholes that have given the government many opportunities to violate the civil liberties of people when they feel the country is in any type of danger. In the 1800 and 1900s America was infested with many different types of disease, such as Cholera, Typhoid and Whooping Cough. With the amount of immigrants coming into the U.S, people often blamed them on bringing diseases with them. Many civil liberties were put at risk here because the Americans wanted to protect their nation at any cost. They held people against their will such as Typhoid Mary and the Chinese, treated women and children differently from their male counterparts, and immigrant workers were not treated correctly.

Most Americans place their pride in being apart of a country where a man can start at the bottom and work his way to the top. We also stress the fact that we are “all created equal” with “certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” (Jefferson 45) During the early 1900s white Americans picked and chose who they saw fit to live in America and become an American. “Those that separate the desirable from the undesirable citizen or neighbor are individual rather than race.”

As I mentioned before, our government was based on our ideologies of self-interest. This helped us to be exceptional in our government giving our people many freedoms. Now this isn’t all bad for America was able to have created something new and unique; which made America appeal to people from other countries and stand out. Now giving us many freedoms wasn’t in itself wrong in any way, but they were prideful for something they were being hypocritical in. Americans spoke of freedom and equality, as though American was just gracious and better than the other countries. However, there was still slavery, which is the opposite of men being equal. Americans were also racist against foreigners plus treated them with disgust and cruelty, yet advertised freedom as the thing that made us

America, this is a country that is built on a foundation of equity. This is a nation that rejected the archaic and random notion that some are inherently meant to rule over others in imaginary roles as kings and queens. The US has taken the best of men like Cicero, Rousseau and Aristotle and created core documents such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and created checks and balances that allow the nation to run in a fair manner. This all is at least true in theory. If the people of the modern US would bother to read the actual works of men like Cicero, Rousseau and Aristotle, they would know that there is a balance in ensuring that the ideal and the realistic are able to be actualized. Freedom and equality are not guaranteed just because the pieces of paper in the nation say so. They can slowly be chipped away at until the people either fail to see it, or can do little to stop it.

The United States of America is known for being the “land of the free” and a “civilized country”. To be civilized means to be well organized and ordered, while free means not under the control of power of another. The United States Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal; but is that really the truth? The United States has been a nation that faced racial inequality and has been uncivilized by other nations. Even today, there is still ongoing discrimination in America and blatant racism in America. The United States can not call itself a civilized country when it continues to struggle with issues such as: racism, oppression, police brutality, and discrimination .

America is known as the land of the free and home of the brave. When thinking of this you think about all the opportunities presented to people and all the freedom. An idea of America is that we’re a meritocracy, which means anyone can be able to to become anything they want as long as they work hard playing by the rules. Along with that many people believe that diversity will bring together the country and unite us all but that’s not the case. America is not a meritocracy.