The Symbol of Freedom

For many people, one of the first things that comes to mind when the word "America" is mentioned is probably the idea of freedom. Freedom is essentially the motive for the creation of the United States in the first place. The mere thought of this word inspires national pride in us. However, during Fredrick Douglass's passionate speech against slavery in 1852, he boldly asks "are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us"? After reading this speech, my idea of America's freedom and freedom in general became conflicted. Exactly what is freedom?

While I pondered this thought for a little, my little pet parrot Yoshi decided to utter a ear-piercing screech and fly over to me. After I recovered from my initial shock from his sudden appearance, I wondered if even he was free. I have decided freedom does indeed apply to him. In our home, he is free to wander wherever he likes. However, at night, we have to say goodnight and put him in his cage to sleep. Sometimes, Yoshi still wants to be out playing and flying around and screeches at us. But I wonder, if he could talk, would my parrot say he was free? Sure, to some extent we have taken some freedom away from him by keeping him in his cage. But even in his spacious little home, he has the freedom to climb around and do what he likes. So I guess you could say Yoshi is still indeed free, but maybe a little less free.

Another view of this is the fact that it would not be hard for my parrot to escape and live on his own in the wilderness. There have been many instances when one of my family members forgets he is on their shoulder and goes outside. However, instead of taking off and being truly free, he actually starts chirping and lets us know so he can go back inside. This proves that freedom in some way is also related to necessity, as Yoshi probably knows that he won't get the same attention and food in the wilderness as in our home. You can apply this to almost every human too. If you truly wanted to be free, void of any and all rules and in charge of only yourself, you could simply run off and disconnect from society. But the same principle applies: it is easier and better to live in an air-conditioned home with running water and a stove.