Are We Free Within Society?!

For me, I find that there are two different answers to the question: “Are we free within Society?” - and that there are many variations, with thanks to culture, socialization, social interaction and social structure. For the most part I find freedom all around. I'll give some examples of that and show some areas where I see other's struggle with finding a sense of freedom, whether it be external or within.

First, what is freedom? It's an ambiguous term that can hold many different meanings to different people. Where a person comes from, their socio-economic status, their race, age, gender and other factors play a role in defining what freedom is. It's used in many different senses, for example: is freedom being able to do as you like within society or is it free-will? Is it something you do or a way you feel? For me, it holds many different meanings pertaining to many different things. It isn't the same for all matters and some hold-fast ideas I have on freedom, have or can quickly change or slide into a different meaning with new discoveries. Reading the news paper can be profound enough to shine a new light on something that changes me as a person. Isn't education liberating?! Some people say we are free...if we say we are. Some believe we are not free in society because we willingly give it power over us, thus we are not free. What about the laws that govern us? As a law abiding citizen, I don't find any issues with the laws that are in place to protect us. Some people who smoke pot think it should be legalized and that it is just “The Man” infringing upon their freedom. Some think it should be legalized for other reasons such as medical purposes (in some states it is legal for those said, medicinal purposes.). See the variation of reasons!! Culturally is one free......say, to change ones sex? Yes, but the individual should be comfortable enough to go forward knowing that for some, it causes fear, because changing one's sex is seen as a threat to the