This paper seeks to explore the definition of the word freedom according to different schools of thought. Freedom is a widely talked about concept all over the world but definition of real freedom remains a controversial issue in various arenas. Generally, freedom can be defined as a situation in which an individual is able to act, speak or pursue his or her interest without physical, emotional or mental limitation. An individual’s freedom can be self initiated or granted by the third party.The major issue is for an individual to establish boundaries within which he can control his or her destiny and to ensure that a person’s actions should not infringe in other people’s freedom.
According to Martin Luther King, Jr, freedom of an individual is a product of various factors within the society. (Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King, Jr. , 1993) A person is considered free if he or she is not in captivity and is presented with boundless choices to explore.A person in jail lacks many aspects of freedom like freedom of movement; this is because he or she can not move out of freewill beyond the confines of jail cells. When a person is given a chance to express his opinions without limitation then freedom of expression can be said to exist. Freedom can be denied based on gender, race, sex or even age.
For instance Negros were discriminated and denied freedom because of their race.An adolescent is also required to play by the rules of their parents because they still can abuse this freedom by making incorrect decisions hence limiting their freedom. Lack of freedom can happen in a number of ways: a person is not free is he is only allowed access to limited and controlled resources in the existence of abundance. A group of people lacks freedom if they are not allowed to settle in any part of the country while another group is free to choose any part of the country to settle in.Martin Luther King, Jr spoke as an American of color having experienced discrimination and hindrance in actualizing his choices and accessing various facilities and resources which were being enjoyed by white Americans.
In the declaration of independence, a person’s freedom should not limit another person’s from exercising their free will. For instance, where their freedom of worship, a person should not use his doctrines and believe system to coerce or criticize another person’s believe system.Laws of nature grants freedom but this is limited by man made laws which are formed to regulate the people under authority. A person who is acting on a freewill is in a position to do things which he wants and is not obliged to do anything that he or she is not interested in. freedom is when a person does everything which injures no one else. Hence the exercise of the natural rights of each man has no limits except those which interfere with the enjoyment of the same rights by the other members of the society.
This is where the law comes in to control people’s freedom.These thoughts of Jefferson were informed being in control of slaves whom he had inherited from the father. Being in charge of the slaves meant that the slave owners overstretched their freedom by using other human beings to achieve all they wanted in life while the slaves had no freedom as they did all the things they did for their master out of coercion and not out of freewill. It is very difficult to determine who is free and who is not in this diverse world.Even the developed nations like United States do not have absolute freedom as their actions are limited by many factors for instance, the security system can not freely disclose some classified information in fear of terrorists attacks. Developing countries on the other hand are not free because they still face conditions attached to the support provided by the developed nations as well as their colonies.
Freedom here should mean that a country can freely draft policies without external interference and decide on their implementation for the benefit of the citizens.I believe in the presence of dependency, achieving freedom is hard to come by. Freedom can be said to exists where people respect and tolerate the choices of others, where nobody takes what is not for them to take, where we can leave our homes open and only those welcome would come in, that people with their choices make the right ones without the need for rules or laws, but because a lot of people don’t know how to be free, we protect ourselves, we should have that option if we want to protect ourselves but as well as vulnerable as we would like yet without being that because there would be respect.People acting on freewill should be responsible for their choices. Freedom can mean having the choice and also the right to make such choices. A person can also claim to have freedom if he or she is free from himself or herself.
This means being in a position to forget or get over a haunting experience in ones life. For instance, when one has failed to get over a lost relationship or love, this unpleasant experience will always occupy his or her mind to the extent that the person can not establish a new relationship because this person is still mourning the loss.Freedom is responsibility to make the right choices and truth to follow our beliefs. (Thomas Jefferson, Garnet Kindervater, Michael Hardt, 2007) According to Burrhus Frederic Skinner (2002) Total freedom seems to be theoretical, we are animals with limits, we belong inside our own bodies which can’t run as fast as we would like or see as much or concentrate, we are not free of sicknesses as some of us are slaves to diseases, we have to eat and sleep, we are not free from nature for example we can change the weather. Sometimes people become enslaved by their fears in the believe that they are pursuing their freedom.This is due to lack of appropriate information about those things in which individuals should be involved in to achieve their freedom.
Some people may argue that freedom means to be able to do all that pleases you without interference whatsoever in your affairs by another party. This definition is a double standard considering that no man is an island and our activities and relationships are closely linked and tightly interwoven hence there is no enough room for everybody to exercise uncontrolled freewill. The freewill should be exercised with moral considerations in order not to infringe in another person’s freedom.With this perception, we can also say that freedom is subjective and relative. Subjectivity comes in because the extent of freewill depends on a persons understanding and individual traits.
What is considered freedom by a person may not warrant the same consideration by another person. This is because each and every person has a different territory for his actions and interests as may also be defined by the prevailing circumstances. For example while believers in other faiths can travel freely all over the world, most Muslims still experience discrimination in obtaining traveling visas to some countries.According to Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King, Jr. , (1993), King believes freedom is manifested when people experience justice and equality. Every person should get a fair share of the societies resources coupled with a sense of belonging in the society where one operates.
We can say that freedom is the extent to which one is allowed to access and use the resources without restrain. Martin Luther King, Jr creates an understanding that one can be out of bondage but this still does not guarantee that he or she has freedom.Jefferson however believes freedom has meaning when slaves are released from their bondage and allowed access to facilities enjoyed by their masters like education. In all these cases, freedom involves a chance to choose your preferences. Freedom comes when people are granted various fundamental rights which they can not live normally without.
These can be said to include the right to life, the right to liberty as well as the right to happiness. All men were created equally and hence should have the same rights. Rules established by man can sometimes be the limiting factor for freedom.These rules are however necessary to put freedom in check. For instance, even though individuals have the right to life, the government can still establish a law that does not allow its citizens to take their own life to ensure people do not abuse this freedom.
Consequently, I believe Jefferson should have come out clear on the boundaries of the rights he demanded and not leave them open for an individual’s decision. King however made it known that lack of freedom accumulates discontent in the oppressed that can trigger rebellion against the oppressor (Jefferson, Kindervater, Hardt, 2007).Conclusion. Martin Luther King, Jr defines freedom from the perspective of a marginalized group. Discrimination and freedom are closely related with discrimination leading to lack of freedom.
While Jefferson’s definition is a response developed from dealing with a group deprived of freedom. From the above accounts, I can precisely define freedom as the room to practice a person’s desires. This room however requires caution and responsibility to ensure that other people’s freedom is not sabotaged by your actions.
