"Freedom isn't free" gets batted around a lot on Yahoo! Answers and message boards as well as Fox News and talk radio but I'm not sure what exactly is being sacrificed by most people these days when it comes to the War. There's been no rise in taxes, no rationing of anything, no war bonds, no draft, no homefront commandos, no CEOs taking $1-a-year salaries. Those who are still pro-war are that way only because someone else is fighting and some future generation of Americans is paying. How can someone say "freedom isn't free" when they haven't done a damn thing for freedom?
Two more things. One: I myself donate blood, so I do do something. Two: If your response is going to consist of calling me a homosexual or saying I hate America or me wanting "the terrorists" to win you're a liar because none of that is true.
2006-07-06 16:24:42 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Other - Politics & Government
The answers here have been very civil for Yahoo! Answers political question, and I really appreciate that. Two things I want to add here:
1) We, the current American people, are not paying for this war. President Bush has borrowed the money from the Chinese, and future generations of Americans will pay off the T-Bills the Chinese are buying now to fund this war. "Taxes" doesn't cut it as an answer.
2) Back in World War II people on the home front really did take "freedom isn't free" to heart. Now it's a bumper sticker slogan. Several posters here don't seem to grasp that concept and gave a knee jerk response of sacrifices others made. That's my point, people seem fine with kids from one-gas station towns fighting and their grandchildren paying but won't do anything themselves.
2006-07-07 05:15:00 · update #1
I guess
you pharsed it correctly...
freedom comes at someones elses expense....
most notably our troops, they exact the price, to them they pay the true cost....
If im not mistaken 42% of federal funds go to past and present milatary actions........and the administration if demanding continued tax cuts....that is morally wrong.
freedom isn't free is just
a phrase on a bumper sticker,
2006-07-06 16:35:25 · answer #1 · answered by nefariousx 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The term "freedom isn't free" means someone has to pay for it. However you're right most people in this country have freedom and no concept of what it means to pay for it. Of all our wars going back to World War One, only about 1 out of a hundred Americans alive today participated ,and out of those probably 30% saw combat. So about less than 1 million know what "paying for it" might mean.
2006-07-06 16:32:35 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I understand that I myself have not been in the armed forces, but that doesn't mean I don't pay in my own way. My father fought in Vietnam, my grandfather fought in World War II and the Korean War. My son wants to join the military when he graduates high school and college. These are my sacrifices to freedom, but there are wives, children, grandchildren, parents and friends who make this sacrifice on a daily basis. We have to live without these people when they aren't home, which leaves a hole in our family until they return, and if they don't return, then the hole is permanent. Our taxes may not being paying for it now, but they will in the future. The price that is paid is not tangible, but it is paid all the same.
2006-07-07 07:09:59 · answer #3 · answered by hvnly_spector 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The freedom enjoyed by the majority of today's society comes at the cost of american blood, sweat, and tears... And it it completely dependent upon individuals willing to stand up and fight to keep their freedoms.
People must be willing to fight for, and to die for freedom. This is America's history, and our heritage. We have, from our very inception, been a force of incorrigible individualists. We wanted nothing to do with society's restrictions in th 1600's in Europe, we wanted our own way, our own lives, and we left traditional homes to find those new things.
Today, we fight for other countries who are not free, countries too weak to stand on their own, countries run by power-mad dictators, who only seek to dominate and control.
America forged a bold new idea, a bold new take on government, and a stronger nation was created because of it. Imperialism and Communism crumble at our feet, where our ideologies of choice, and free speech shake the foundations that those passe governments were built upon, so long ago.
Your question is well-thought out, and brings to bear very good points. The noise about freedom not being free does NOT come from the soldiers paying in blood. By and large, we seem to be rather silent on the subject.
But, every person who says that phrase contributes a feeling to the cause. America could sacrifice more, true. Things are nowhere near as desperate as they were in the World Wars. We do not have as strict a situation as my grandparents, and great grandparents had.
Your words are intelligent. I'm glad you do something. If you'd like to do more, find a recruiter, and see if they would put you in touch with a local family support group for deployed soldiers. You don't have to join.
Also, if you ever see a soldier walking around, anywhere, please thank them. I was active duty for 6 years, and had decided that I was getting out of the Army, because nobody cared... And one woman walked up, and she said "thank you". I almost re-enlisted the next day... Our soldiers do not hear enough how appreciated they are.
2006-07-06 16:40:56 · answer #4 · answered by Cameron B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
freedom isn't free to those there, or those left behind. Wars are paid for in blood and tears of the ones fighting and the ones waiting.
what about the gas prices? how about the huge amounts of humanitarian aid that we send to rebuild the country we are currently bombing? We didn't want to pay Korea money anymore, and they ended up starting the draft.
Freedom isn't free is an easier statement to make than to go into details of why it is true.
2006-07-06 16:28:56 · answer #5 · answered by nik named mom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means you look young. It is used when referring to someone who may not be all that young but still looks it. Young enough to like fast cars and at the age when you don't have to answer to anyone. So...You don't look a day older then being 18 or 21, even though you may be in your late 20s or early 30s.
2016-03-27 07:23:25 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Freedom is not free, you are thinking taxes, gas prices. When there are people fighting for other peoples future. And doing a "damn thing" is not just signing up for the military. It is to support our troops at the times when they need support the most.
2006-07-06 16:30:58 · answer #7 · answered by Karma 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That has been the mantra for a while for those who want to justify war. It means that there is a price(usually blood by the troops) for freedom when actually it is free. The human race is still evolving to understand that. Peace.
2006-07-06 16:36:25 · answer #8 · answered by wildrover 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I got "Freedom Isn't Free" tattooed on my back the month I got home from Basic Combat Training. I guess it probably means a little more to me than most as I'll be on my way over to the sand-box soon (I suppose).
96B Intelligence Analyst
SC Army National Guard
HHB 218 INF HQ-S2 Dept.
2006-07-06 16:31:20 · answer #9 · answered by CAUTION:Truth may hurt! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thomas Jefferson once said: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Freedom isn't free. If we expect to keep all the freedoms afforded to us by the U.S. Constitution, we must:
1. Participate in the political process so as not to allow it to decay from exploitation by crooked and corrupt politicians;
2. FIGHT - if necessary - to defeat a tyrannical and oppressive government (such as the one in power right now);
3. Remain vigilant in retaining our freedoms through the voting process and involvement in everything from our local City Councils to our national elections. -RKO-
2006-07-06 16:32:35 · answer #10 · answered by -RKO- 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋