Preview

Is America really the land of the free?

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
595 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Is America really the land of the free?
Is America really the land of the free?
Ever since we were children we have been molded by society. At the store with our parents we wanted them to get us that “cool” toy that lights up and makes generic noises. When they said “no”, we were furious. The frustration of these incidents created a false hate for our own loving parents. Now we know of coarse that our parents didn’t hate us, they just couldn’t afford to buy the toy. Even though they worked every day for us, they still couldn’t afford it. When we were a little older we started to grasp this concept. This is when we realized that we needed money to buy things. If you have enough money, you can get your hands on whatever you want. This realization got us looking for jobs. In this paper I will ask the question “Are we free?” and argue some of my thoughts on how multiple institutions of society can have such a large impact on our lives. Money rules everything. There is no doubt about it. If you want to eat tonight (in the city) you need to have money. If you want a new home you have to borrow money to get it. Even If you just want to go to school to get a diploma to be hired to a job that you hope in the long run will pay you more money, you have to borrow money. This is like how the government borrows money from the Federal Reserve. Accept the government hasn’t been out of debt since 1835. They just keep going further and further under. But that’s a different story. My point in the subject of money is that money is what everyone is working for. Everyone is out spending their day doing something they would probably not like to be doing just so they can get more money! Where does money come from and how do some people have so much more than others? The Federal Reserve is the central bank that the United States government refers to for its money. For example if the government needs 20 million dollars it contacts the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve will print the money for the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    capitalism as a false sense of freedom. The unhealthy promise of an idealised image of…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Freedom from Summary

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Frances Moore Lappe’s essay, “Freedom From and Freedom To,” speaker one argues the many civil liberties we are bestowed with give us freedom from government interference. The speaker argues he is free because there is no one there who can determine what to do with his life; he can pursue whatever he desires, whenever he desires. Speaker one discusses money plays a major role in the aspects of freedom because in his aspect of freedom, “freedom from interference”, the speaker argues the more money one acquire the more worry-free lifestyle you will be living (Lappe, 510) Although financial stability is a big part of being “free” it can not possess every aspect of happiness. Speaker one claims “money is essential to finding oneself” (Lappe, 511)…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    A collectivist society where individuality is punishable by death and all men are viewed as “all in one and one in all… indivisible and forever”; herein lies the world of Anthem, an atypical yet discomforting dystopian world (Rand 19). Like most dystopias, the government is oppressive and tyrannical, hiding behind a false veil of fairness and equality. Different is the retrogressive development of technology, which can be described as primitive at best. The stark contrast between this portrayal and other dystopias highlights the impact individualism has on the progression of technology in society. Ayn Rand’s Anthem implies that invention inherently encourages the development of the individual and technology thrives when independent thought is present.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The privatization of property in today’s world is among the leading causes of unhappiness even among the high social class people. This can be partly attributed to the long working hours, where the workers are forced to sell their labor to survive (Ollman 3). Economic Utopian state that the start of capitalism marks the beginning of a social defect, which is seen today in the inequalities resulting from the financial divide. About human ethics, More’s Utopia proposes a word where people are liberated from the need to work, which in turn results in happiness (Dorrestijn & Verbeek 48). The labor market today is characterized by overwhelming low wages, long working hours and poor working conditions which continuously jeopardize the safety of workers. The concept of Utopian society in the modern day society has introduced a struggle where one seeks his freedom and on the other hand, struggles with science and technology as a way of…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is a system that forces the individual to play by its rules. These events or public changes to society are challenges that either help or hinder a group, a society or the individual. Events reinforce a person’s survival instincts and the capitalist is always in the middle trying to figure out how they could make money off of these events/challenges. Capitalism existence is inevitable but we allow it to further take advantages of the struggling and the greedy, the spirt of capitalism. This has been emphasized and drilled into the individual to believe they have a “duty” to this capitalism- to be rich and find riches at all cost. “…many diffuse, discrete, more or less present and occasionally absent concrete individual phenomena, which are arranged according to those one-sidedly emphasized viewpoints into a unified analytical construct (p.274).” This is simply one sided, in which it enriches more of the 1 percent. This is where the “ideal types” become the influenced objective causes of actions. We work harder for the idea that we will rise only to indebt ourselves more and to…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American government has never been perfect. It was built by men who were considered rebels during the Revolution when they broke off from Great Britain. There are imperfect laws, just as there are imperfect people who make and enforce them. To peacefully resist laws would have a positive impact on a free society. As it stands now--how it has stood for generations, for that matter-- the government is run less by an idea of right and wrong, and more by convenience, however immoral.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I don't believe that America was truly free in this time. The " Separate but free" made it clear it wasn't. People were being told where to sit and where they couldn't sit because of the color of their skin. If America would have been truly free, laws like those wouldn't exist and people would be able to go about their day without the fear of being arrested because they sat in the wrong seat in the train. There was also no freedom towards colored people because every time they tried to use their rights, it was always twisted to make it seem like they were treated fairly even when they…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Why Is America Free Today

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I think that America is free today because because important events in history. Like meetings were they discussed how to improve on things that needed fixing. Or bills that were made and passed to make an impact on the nation. Also wars that were fought to prove the right to either own land or to not have to follow certain rules. Why do you think America is free today?…

    • 335 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Is America still the land of the free or is it just for some people?…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Individualism, where any citizen of American can achieve any level of success based on their personal motivation and attempt, is comparatively the same as egalitarianism. According to this practice, one is expected to be reliant on one’s self and responsible for one’s own life. As mentioned previously, a person can only be as reliant as the resources available. Every American is entitled to what the next may have, but difficulty may arise if they aren’t socially inclined to what is needed to succeed in society. This is where lower class, or middle even, can become victims of…

    • 821 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Throughout history men have struggled, suffered and died to free the oppressed” (Weil). This struggle has been through cycles of “excitement” throughout time. One such excitement was in the thirties and forties. The vast differences in societies got many thinking about the faults that lie within a society. One of the biggest faults that was discovered was the use of classes and the unequal distribution of power that ensued. In the dystopian societies of, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell, we see clear faults through the oppression of the lower class by the upper classes use of materialism, instillation of society over self, and exploitation.…

    • 1465 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The notion of freedom is inherently abstract, “Freedom” and what it means to be a free individual has been debated by many academic scholars for decades; because what it means to be free changes with time. It’s not a definition that stays constant but rather malleable, and open to a variety of opinions. What does freedom encompass? What does it mean to be free? Isiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Liberty and Hannah Ardent’s Freedom and Politics both attempt to give a definition to freedom and what it means to be free.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most problematic dilemma in American Culture is that the United States of America is “the land of the free” and a place of endless opportunity. As an American, I respectfully stand in the middle because in certain aspects, America is “the land of the free” and a place of vast opportunities; in other aspects, America is a place filled with limitations of freedoms and opportunity. Common assumptions of the American culture are usually equality, informality, and outstanding individualism. While a majority of the population would agree with these assumptions, there are parts of the population that know what truths lie deep under these assumptions. Equality is the one of the characteristics people assume about America: “all men are created equal”—but in my opinion, there was never a time in America where everyone was equal (in rights or status.…

    • 572 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Without capitalism America would be just another third world country. The federalist’s position on the purpose of government is to protect an individual’s right to liberty;- particularly their right to private property and private convictions. (Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom 38) “A free society would inevitably be marked by a substantial amount of economic inequality that resulted from the natural differences between people, and such a society was therefore just.”(Miroff, Seidelman, and Swanstrom 38) Liberty has also been viewed as the right to gather great amounts of property and power. Accumulating vast amounts of wealth and power creates a powerful nation with great economic success and a dominant…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Strain Theory

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Money is probably the most centralised goal in the United States. All people are given a “chance” to earn a lot of money so that they are encouraged to work hard. Furthermore money is required to buy many of life’s necessities including basic needs such as food and water. Many people…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays