Are We Truly Free?

America is known to be, “the land of the free.” Are we truly free? Can I truly do whatever I want? Because of society, no one is truly free. When we are born, our society and our culture teach us the rules and traditions of environment. Thus we are trained to control certain behaviors. Before I was even born, what will be and what won’t be tolerated was already determined. Although total control of my thoughts and actions do not exist, I am allowed certain freedoms. However, within what society allows, one may not truly be free.

Consider people of the upper versus the lower class. Charon says that, “ One does not generally control one’s own existence if one is poor.” This is shown to be very true in our American society. Think of the many celebrities the news has shown that have broken the law. Sometimes they seem to get a slap on the wrist compared to the severe punishment a lower class citizen might receive for the same crime.

I also believe that poverty denies certain freedoms as well. One on the kids that I work with is the eldest of her siblings. Because her mother cannot afford daycare for her other siblings, she has to be responsible for taking care of them. This young girl has lost some of her freedom because of economic status. This is the case for many larger lower class families. Some people might argue that her mother shouldn’t have so many kids. However, in the context of freedom, the mother then wouldn’t have the freedom to have as many kids as she wants because of her class status. Where as a person who is born in the upper class, these are not common issues. I’m sure we can think of tons of ways where the upper class has more freedom than the lower class.