Who hates the phrase, "Freedom is not free!"...and WHERE did it come from?

Question

I consider myself to be a very patriotic person. I am conservative, and have a brother in the military. My grandfathers were both veterans. I have a lot of respect for our military. AND I love America!! But, for some strange reason..that phrase just gets under my skin. I am not quite sure why. I guess it makes me think that freedom can be bought or something. Does anyone else feel this way? Wouldn't, "Freedom is earned" or "Freedom requires sacrifice"...something like that be more accurate and more appropriate??

Answer 1

I, as a veteran, don't like it either. I think a more appropriate one today would be "Freedom isn't at the bottom of an oil well".

Answer 2

The phrase means that it has been paid for with the blood of many soldiers over the last 250 years and a great deal of sacrifice by the citizens of the United States. The red stripes on our flag stand for the blood shed by soldiers. No. It is totally appropriate.

Answer 3

it does bring to mind a sort of irony. if freedom is not free, someone had to sacrifice their freedom to earn it. and so on.

in any case, those who say it may wish to bring attention to the struggles and sacrifices put into the birth and maintenance of freedom. their point might be exactly what yours is: someone has to PAY for the luxuries you enjoy on the home front. those people paying the price for someone's decision are those soldiers on the lines, away from their loved ones, faced with uncertainty. they are NOT FREE to live their lives the way you or i might in the relative safety of our little homes. they are NOT FREE to come and go as they wish, although many of them FREELY chose to serve. yes they are sacrificing, but they have chosen to sacrifice some of their freedom to allow someone else to enjoy theirs.

here's one possible source for the quote...
http://www.usmemorialday.org/poetry/notfree.htm

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

Answer 4

I get quite turned off with the "freedom isn't free" It is, or it wouldn't be called "FREEDOM" to start with.

I never heard this phrase prior to 9/11 and I'm sure it was invented by some conservative moron in order to justify going to war.

Answer 5

You are thinning inside the box way too much. This isn't bout money this is about a soldier dying. Now you obviously dont know what our soldiers go through on a daily basis. Iraq is on average 130 degrees that's freaking hott. Now its not just bout right now. Think about George Washington being called a traitor all through out his career, and look at him the "greatest American leader" of all time. The expression comes from the blood shed and heart ache we went through to get to this place and have this much respect as Americans.

Answer 6

No I agree with that phrase very much so. I live in a town in North east Colorado and we are in a very high fire ban. Now heres the deal....

On this day many years ago we fought and won our independce so we could be FREE. Now our stupid town and our town only has put us under a firework ban. If you are caught with fireworks its a $5000 fine and jail time and thats only if you get caught with them not lighting them. Wheres the freedom there if we can't even share in the joy of our independce? WHERES THE FREEDOM? I thought that we were free.....

Answer 7

It cost a BUCK o Five

What would you do
If you were asked to give up your dreams for freedom
What would you do
If asked to make the ultimate sacrifice

Would you think about all them people
Who gave up everything they had.
Would you think about all them War Vets
And would you start to feel bad

Freedom isn't free
It costs folks like you and me
And if we don't all chip in
We'll never pay that bill
Freedom isn't free
No, there's a hefty ******' fee.
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five
Who will?

What would you do
If someone told you to fight for freedom.
Would you answer the call
Or run away like a little pussy
'Cause the only reason that you're here.
Is 'cause folks died for you in the past
So maybe now it's your turn
To die kicking some ***

Freedom isn't free
It costs folks like you and me
And if we don't all chip in
We'll never pay that bill
Freedom isn't free
Now there's a have to hook'in fee
And if you don't throw in your buck 'o five
Who will?

You don't throw in your buck 'o five. Who will?
Oooh buck 'o five
Freedom costs a buck 'o five

Answer 8

From the beginning of America Freedom wasn't Free. The Minutemen were not free of the British, they had to fight. And we've been fighting for our freedoms or someone elses since.

Answer 9

I don't like any of them as they really are political sayings that aren't necessarily true.

Korea wasn't about Freedom, neither was Vietnam, and Iraq isn't!!

The other issue I have with it is that usually the people mouthing it aren't doing any of the dieing, and are often the same ones who want to limit free speech!!

Answer 10

Your freedom has been bought and paid for by the fallen soldiers of countless wars!

Up with People
popularized these lyrics:

Freedom is not free –
You have to sacrifice; you have to pay the price –
For your liberty.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE
Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes. He stays up for days on end.
-- --
You take a warm shower to help you wake up. He goes days or weeks without running water.
-- --
You complain of a "headache", and call in sick. He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
-- --
You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends. He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
-- --
You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket. He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
-- --
You talk trash on your "buddies" that aren't with you. He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
-- --
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls. He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
-- --
You complain about how hot it is. He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
-- --
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong. He does not get to eat today.
-- --
You make your bed and wash your clothes. He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
-- --
You go to the mall and get your hair redone. He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
-- --
You are angry because your class ran 5 minutes over. He is told he will be held an extra 2 months.
----
You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night. He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
-- --
You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday. He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
-- --
You roll your eyes as a baby cries. He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.
-- --
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything. He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government and remembers why he is fighting.
-- --
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like him. He hears the gun fire and bombs.
-- --
You see only what the media wants you to see. He sees the bodies lying around him.
-- --
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't. He does what he is told.
-- --
You stay at home and watch TV. He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home, sleep, and eat.
-- --
You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get comfortable. He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be woken by gun fire
-- --
You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse place because of men like him. If only there were more men like him