by L.C.

Created on: March 31, 2009

I am lucky enough to have been both born and raised in Canada. As a Canadian, I've enjoyed a freedom that has been made evident to me for as long as I can remember. Teachers would drill into our heads the notion of freedom, and the fact that many people in foreign countries didn't have this right. I have always been grateful that I am free, but in a sort of passing, obligated sense. I knew I was supposed to be thankful, and to feel bad for those who aren't free, and so I was.

It wasn't until recently that I fully began to grasp how blessed I really am. This occurred for two reasons. One, I have begun studying political philosophy, where the concept of freedom is dissected and pulled apart until the very word holds a new world of questions and contradicting answers I have never before known. Two, I have started travelling, and I have seen with my own eyes the ocular proof of the lack of freedom that is all too common in our world.

Freedom is a beautiful, wonderful thing. As a Canadian, I have the freedom of speech, the freedom of belief, the freedom of assembly, and many other rights. However, is freedom truly free? After pondering over this question not only during the entirety of my philosophy course, but also while having many discussions with foreign friends who live in countries that do not recognize their right to freedom, I have to reply with an understanding "no". No, freedom isn't truly free, but this is to our benefit in the long run.

We are, technically, free to do whatever we like. If I want, I can shave my hair and start up my own obscure, primitive religion. If I want, I can refuse to eat on any day but Sunday, and live off of a business selling nothing but seashells. These are all my own choices. There are, however, limits. For example, I cannot purchase a gun and go and shoot someone just because I'm in the mood to blow up a stranger. I cannot go and steal someone's purse, nor can I voluntarily starve my children. There are laws in this country that limit my freedom, and in my opinion, a good country will work as such. There will be a balance. There will be laws to restrict individuals so that they don't go and do crazy things, but at the same time, our rights will not be infringed, and we will not be too restricted. Balance, as always, is key.

If freedom were truly free, I can only imagine the sort of world we would live in. As humans, we are not capable of properly residing in a society as vast and developed as today's without some sort of limits on our freedom. To do otherwise would be utter chaos, and it is for this reason that we have laws in place, as well as punishments for those who break the rules, and a government to enforce these regulations.

It is my hope that everyone living on this planet will someday will be able to say that they are free. It is one of my greatest fears, however, that freedom will become truly free, because I don't feel that humans are moral enough to refrain from abusing this right. As such, freedom is certainly not free, and the world can function as a result.

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