Saturday
December 1, 2001

How many middle class people have the freedom to do what he or she really wants to do? The definition of freedom is the condition of being free of restraints. There are good parts to freedom but with the good comes the bad. I think that with freedom comes racism and sexism. People have the right not to serve certain people. You walk into restaurants and department stores and there are signs that say, "We have the right not to serve people." Don't these people have the right to be served?

"The land of the free" is the motto of our country. People believe that they are free to do what ever they want. I think that freedom is a privilege and with that privilege comes responsibility. If you break laws you go to jail, if you never break laws you shouldn't. If you get so many points on your drivers license, it gets suspended. If you obey all laws and are a responsible diver you will have the privilege of driving. If you break curfew your parents ground you. If you are home on time every time they might extend your curfew and give you more responsibility. One of the problems with freedom is there are people out there that will try and take away our freedom. Why? They are free to do so. Did Hitler have the right to take away freedom from the Jews? Do these people have the right to take away our freedom? You can try to do anything you think you're big enough to do but remember there is always a chance you will run into someone bigger. There are still people who think that the holocaust never happened and it's these people that don't think that there are such things as sexism and racism. They teach their children to think the same. Why? It's their freedom as parents to do so.

Are we really as free as we think that we are? In my opinion, no we are not. Freedom brings the restraint of responsibility. If parents weren't responsible for their children what would happen to the children? We are not as free because we rely on every one being honest. This is a major problem because not everyone is honest. I think that our country has been living in a dream and that it is time to wake up. The World Trade Tower bombings helped wake us up a little; the only problem is people are all ready forgetting it happened. We are at war. Why are so many people mad at our soldiers? They are fighting for our country. We wouldn't be the U.S.A. if we never fought for our rights. I wonder what would have happened if there was never any wars? What would life be like? A world with no war is only a dream. As long as people in the world are racist and sexist there will always be hate and war but, isn't it their freedom to be racist and sexist?

In regards to democracy I believe we really are not a democracy. The definition of democracy is government by the people either directly or through an elected representative. How does this system representative account for all people? No matter what decision the elected leader makes it will upset a lot of people. Are the people of the U.S.A. allowed to choose who runs for what? What if all the people that run for something are not the right people? What happens? Does the country go down the drain? I have a lot of questions that are left unanswered. One is why we have not had a women or native or black president? Is it because they're too honest? I won't give my opinion on this question today.

It is my opinion that we have been fighting more for pride than freedom. There really isn't a single person who is really truly free, because to be truly free is anarchy. There will always be limits and restraints, for everyone the limit is different, but still there is a limit.

I do think that what our soldiers have done and will do past, present and future is brave and all of them have good reasons for why they choose to be in the armed forces. I respect all of them and will continue to forever, as should you. These are the people who keep our country running. God Bless Them All.