What Makes America Anymore "Free" Than Any Other Country?

What is the definition of "freedom" that applies to America? Is it the "freedom" to walk down the street without being arrested? Freedom to practice whatever religion you like? Or is it something else? Last time I checked, we are no more free than any other "civilized" country in the world in those regards.

So, what exactly is it that is "free" in America and when has anything ever been free?

For one, our country has its roots in slavery, our founding fathers owned them while they were writing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. That seems like a pretty big contradiction within itself. "All men are created equal", except for those guys we're holding against their will to do our field work every day without pay.

Secondly, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world, we have more people behind bars than any other country. "Land of the free" indeed, we imprison more people than any other nation, many being non-violent offenders. We then use our prisoners for cheap labor to clean our roadsides and to do other odd jobs, a modern form of slavery. This is not to ignore other countries who do this, I'm aware that they do, but the focus here is on America and its claim to "freedom".

Thirdly, nothing in this country (or world) is "free". Try going to a grocery store and loading up your grocery cart with food and walk out without paying and see how well that goes. You'll become another statistic in the largest prison system in the world. Try to go watch a movie and walk in the front door without buying a ticket and see if you don't get kicked out. Try to take a vacation somewhere without paying for it and see how far you get. My point is nothing in America is free, so I find it very ironic that America claims to be free.

We forced young men to go to a country halfway across the world and die during the World Wars and Vietnam. What happened if they refused to fight a war they disagreed with or simply didn't want to participate in? They were put in jail. That's not freedom. Yes, that was in the past but it is still part of our history and cannot be ignored.

The economy is another form of modern day slavery, no we aren't exactly forced to work but the alternative is much much worse. If you don't have a job you have a pretty crappy life.

Usually it is those who do the least manual labor who get paid the most, those who do the most manual labor get paid the least. Retail is a perfect example of this, though not the only one. What does that sound a lot like? Slavery. Slave owners benefiting the most while the slaves are thrown scraps off of the table.

I used to work for a roofing company that went door to door selling jobs, I was part of the manual labor division of the company,
I was one of the guys who got on the roof and did all of the manual work. There were those who were the door to door salesman, all they did was knock on doors, climb on the roof for a 5 minute inspection then would handle the phone calls and paper work. I was on the roof all day in the sun sweating my ass off yet these guys who did hardly any manual labor were getting paid 3 and 4 times what we the manual laborers were getting paid. Does that seem fair to you? I don't think it was fair. If money is supposed to be representative of how much work you do, I should have been paid 10 times what those other guys got paid, but as it worked out it was the opposite.

It seems as though our economy encourages this type of pay scale. The hardest workers get paid the least.

This is a perfect analogy for America's form of capitalism. Those who push paper and bark orders get paid exorbitant salaries while those who do the REAL work get thrown the scraps. That sounds a lot like modern day slavery to me. No, America is not the only one who does this, but the focus here is on America claiming to be "the land of the free".

So I ask again, how has America ever been more "free" than any other civilized country? We may not have it as bad as some people in the world, but those slaves that our founding fathers owned didn't have it as bad as some other people either, yet they were still slaves.

In my opinion, America being a beacon of "freedom" seems to be an oxymoron of epic proportions. We are far from being free and what little freedom we do have has slowly been eroding for the past 30 or so years. Nothing about America does or ever has represented the true definition of freedom.

This is all just my opinion, so try not to get all butt hurt over it.

The U.S. police state is just as, if not more violent and oppressive, than any other country.
It saddens me deeply. I would love to have a sense of patriotism, but, nope.
My impression is they print the dollars and if anybody gets in the way they get the crap kicked out of them.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Freedom and the perception thereof - is an illusion. We are on a prison planet and America is under attack...

The federal reserve act of 1913, The Department of Homeland Security, the NSA, the CIA, the militarization of the domestic police force, the promotion of global freedom and democracy by the mega-ton for-oil, dynastic political bloodlines and corporate oligarchies hell bent on the erosion of the constitution and an overt push to disarm the general population have all lead to Americas freedoms being the way they are today.

So, America is not free and is not more or less free than other countries - just differently-free.

I mean, we can all lament our lack of freedom -- but ultimately we're the ones that did all of this to ourselves. Human beings set up and comprise governments. Human beings write laws and enforce them.

In theory all of the mechanisms to change it are in place, but getting congress to vote to end corruption is like asking someone to cut their own arm off.

All i read whats in it for me, i want, i want, i want but why do i have to give. The reason why you imprison people should not be on moral grounds, they need to be on the three principals of universal laws. You are a failure America, you have been for the last 70 years.

Other countries:


US of A:


We're about as free as those shrooms!

a reply to: Hyperia

That's the thing, human beings always come together to pool resources and help one another to achieve greater things. Out of this, one person will eventually become a leader. Human beings naturally want to be lead, this goes back hundreds of thousands of years.

originally posted by: MystikMushroom
I mean, we can all lament our lack of freedom -- but ultimately we're the ones that did all of this to ourselves. Human beings set up and comprise governments. Human beings write laws and enforce them.

In theory all of the mechanisms to change it are in place, but getting congress to vote to end corruption is like asking someone to cut their own arm off.

I don't remember writing any laws. In fact I voted AGAINST many laws and those enacting them. Please don't speak for me.

a reply to: Hyperia

You must not have read the OP very well then, because I didn't say any of that.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

America is the land of the free????!!!!! This guy wants to bring back slavery.

a reply to: StoutBroux

You're a member of this country and a citizen, the government is a product of the people. It goes back even further than the founding of America. Humans through history have always bent down and submitted to the stronger and those deemed "more wise".

If you're not working to change it by starting grass roots organizations, running for office, protesting, creating protest music and art -- you're responsible for it continuing. You either work to prevent and change it, or you're allowing it to happen.

I truly think we can take back more control ... It won't be easy, but I still think it can be done!

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

The question should be...Why are not other countries more free than America? Think about that.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

I said it, in reference to your prison system which you actually did write. I also mention, the system you have is built on freedom which really is slavery. You made laws to justify greed not just corporate but most of them, your nation is a utopia for living as a primate and then you call yaself humans. Apparently you can change rules, since time had actually run out. Three years you been given let's see if you can become a human under those years or still go under the pseudonym primate

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

It's actually a thought provoking question.

The way I see it, the difference between America and other first world countries is the freedom from protection.

That's all I have been able to pinpoint. You have none of that pesky protection in case of unemployment, you have virtually no protection from abusive employers, no protection from pharmaceutical and insurance companies who are focused on profit, no protection if you happen to get elderly, no protection if you happen to be handicapped, no protection from law enforcement officers going crazy.

Freedom and protection are really antipodal, you can't have both, and most of Americans are quite proud to proclaim we don't want protection- we're proud of being able to defend ourselves. I admit I have that same mindset, myself.

I do have moments of questioning myself, and wondering if that isn't just naive and brainwashed stupidity though.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

America free? Or an optical illisuion

originally posted by: Hyperia
All i read whats in it for me, i want, i want, i want but why do i have to give. The reason why you imprison people should not be on moral grounds, they need to be on the three principals of universal laws. You are a failure America, you have been for the last 70 years.

I really despise people like this, who wish to blame and point fingers and judge.

Instead we could work together, find a solution, solve a humanitarian issue.

Or just follow the dark ages of blaming a group and therefore, in some sick sense, feel like you are justified and somehow better because you happen to have been born under different circumstances.

Aside from preventing overt global fascism/authoritarianism ? Twice? I am joking here. By its collectivist nature these other countries (socialist democracies) have limitations on individuality. They rely on our defensive capabilities and our innovations . How can you be free within a system in which you have ceded sovereignty to a group or coalition (the EU) and rely on others for food/energy/defense?

a reply to: starwarsisreal


How many times are we going to have this video of an obvious idiot thrown in our faces?
We freely make fun of the ass so yes we are a free country.

America is not more "free" than any number of liberal Western democracies.

In all of the developed democratic world you can basically live freely and do what you like, within the social constraints of the nation you are in.

For example, in the UK people don't want guns, or armed police, so that is expressed in the output of gun control and a different approach to policing. It does not make an American more freer just because he can arm himself to the teeth, it just makes him more likely to be shot.

I can merrily rant and rave about my government, fart in public and protest about the this that and the other. I can read what I like and do pretty much everything anyone else can do in France, Germany, the US, Canada or New Zealand.

In many countries you are constrained by what you do, say and read. China, Russia and almost all developing nations, bar a few shining lights, constrain civil and political liberties. In the developed democratic world such constraints are fewer or non-existent in the sense that they don't matter.

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

I'd like to think freedom as being ascribed with the ability to think and do things freely as long as one doesn't break the rules or is not discriminated in any way shape or form.

Quite frankly, if doesn't affect your mind then you are oblivious to what the others view as being a slave to the nanny state the Oligarchs would kill to have.

As long you do nothing about it, in terms of spreading the truth, your guns will be removed and the constitutional grip eventually shackles your freedom, till our children eventually find themselves competing in this hell of a prison we all live in called earth.

Peace