Are We Really Free?

In the essay, “Work Rules” by William Grieder he talks about what it is like to be an American worker in our society. He poses a question, “are Americans really free?” (Greider) This is a tough question to answer, what is our definition of free and how is freedom accomplished? Do we have more freedoms than the older generations? What roads have been paved for us and what disadvantages are we facing now? Grieder’s bottom line in this article was that communication is key for a successful business, is that accurate? These are all questions that after reading “Work Rules” I wanted to know more about, I investigated my own family’s history, and in doing so made some revelations of my own. I come from a long line of extremely interesting people, all with unique stories about what it is like to be a true American. Many people believe that America is the land of freedom and prosperity, yes it can be, but you better believe that freedom doesn’t come without a price. Being a woman, I wanted to know what path has been paved for me, by the help of mother’s mothers. My Mother’s mother was born here in Reno, NV she was a graduate from Reno High School and at the age of 17 she started working at 1st National Bank of NV as a bookkeeper. When she started working she was only making $0.78 an hour, she continued working up the ranks until she was a teller. It took her nine years to make $1.27 an hour. She ended up leaving that job because she had met my grandfather there and the bank did not like bank officers to be with bank employees and so when she became pregnant she was let go. She then moved on to doing bookkeeping and taxes for various doctors where she was making $400 a month for 33 years until the doctors company merged with another doctor and she was replaced by someone much younger than her making half the wage. So my grandmother moved on to working real estate until she retired.
My father’s mother was born in Indiana. She was an all American girl and was educated