How free is the "Land of the Free"?

Question

Do you believe The United States is free in ways all other countries are not? Certainly there are dictatorships it would be easy to argue against, but the U.S. itself is only a representative democracy at best, and is more accurately described as an oligarchy in light of its Electoral College and the inordinate sway of the Dems and the G.O.P. Is it truly more free than Denmark, England, or, dare it be said, Russia?

Have personal freedoms been eroded in the U.S.? Is the idea of freedom a collective mantra ("land of the free") with no basis in reality?

If you believe other countries have more freedoms, what countries would you cite, and why?

Lastly, I am a citizen of the U.S. who believes in open, or free, discourse - telling me "if you don't like it, get out" is akin to admitting the country isn't free at all, nor open to opposing viewpoints. So if you think the country is free, back up your point rather than pointing fingers. I would like to believe. I'm listening.

Ben, have you traveled? I've traveled in Brazil, Canada & Mexico, I've been in 33 of the 50 states in the U.S., and I've traveled throughout the countries of northern Europe. I have much I've yet to see, but I'm not exactly holed up in my hometown, either. You?

bedwetting: A good example of absolutely zero evidence for your point, thanks. And no, my last question was about allergies, as you could have discovered with a 2-second check that was apparently too much for you.

Shiela, I wish I understood it myself. I certainly feel our freedoms have been eroded, often under the very guise of protecting our freedoms. I do recognize the need for the military and I support troops doing their duty... though as they cannot question their duty by nature, I am more than happy to do the questioning. Someone has to. And in a free country, in theory, I can. As to why it's become more complicated, I wish I had a simple answer.

Joe - No, I haven't. Russia was listed with the "dare I say it" primarily to promote discussion and to provide a gauge. I have been to both England and Denmark, however, and I think either would hold up fairly well.

Ruri - I agree, and thank you for answering. Money is not the root of all evil. Organized religion is. I understand the need for it in the past and its importance to allowing humanity to evolve, I just think it's day is done. There's not much to replace it but an atheistic void at the moment however, and that won't work for most people. Some sort of religion that's much more accepting and much less dictatorial might work, but people will have to give up their precious ancient texts, and most aren't ready to do that no matter what evidence arises to call those texts into question.

bedwetting - I see you've given over to name-calling, generally the last resort of those with no point and no ability to argue. You seem an angry sort. Good luck with that.

Answer 1

every place has some freedoms. we used to be what most all others aspired to. but now we are far from it.
we are more and more just a capitalist society not democratic in thought or deed as you point out were we never a true democracy, we are clearly losing our middle class. soon to be just another 2 class society if things don't change.
one of our most sacred of freedoms- religious freedoms are starting to erode into one right (wing) religious thought allowed only if some would have it.
and many of our laws are not being upheld. now the supreme court has a fully stacked deck so it may get worse.
and many of our civil rights are only a right if you can afford the lawyer.
yea that old if you don't like it you can get out..same thing the average alcoholic parent says to the questioning teenager....same mentality either way.
very provocative question,thanks.

Answer 2

Good question. No it is not as free as it once was. Since the department of Homeland Bufoonary was started all of are freedoms are being destroyed. Why is this happening? Because most of you sit on your lard *** butts and watch American Idol and vote for a guy who has marginal talent at best. When it comes to electing a president or doing your homework on initiatives and laws you can't be bothered. This isn't the first generation of Americans to let this happen. How do you think Prohibition got passed with so many people unwilling to obey the law? Because they didn't bother to vote.
Second our Country is a federation. That is why it is called a Federal government. It is not a pure Democracy. Hell it isn't even a Democracy at all. Bush was appointed president and he was not the first president to be appointed. Gerald Ford was also apointed president. He was never elected. He ran against Carter and lost but Nixon made him the vice president after Spiro Agnew was charged with taking bribes.
I have a friend in China and they seem to have a much freer country in some ways than we do. They vote as well. Not that they have a better government. Brazil has more freedom Austrailia, and the Pricipality of Monaco have more freedoms. And they have a Prince. Monaco is under French rule also.
Cameras watch us everywhere and GPS has made us trackable almost anywhere.
Corporations have more influence than the voters. Do you have a lobbyist looking out for your interests? Buy any Senators a membership to the Golf club at Pebble Beach.? The only thing we have is our vote and many of you are easily buffaloed.
Even most of the press is owned by large coorporations that can get a great journalist like Dan Rather removed when he reported the truth.
We are actually a Corporate led country. Playing into our fears we have let our freedoms go inorder to feel safe.

Answer 3

Saying that the U.S. of A. is a "free country" is indeed a "mantra," as you call it, or as I've said, a slogan. "Freedom" is not a rule, it is an idea, a mantra, a slogan.

Have personal freedoms been eroded in the U.S.? When? Since the U.S. Supreme Dictators declared that sodomy is a constitutional right? Since they struck down laws banning partial-birth abortion? Since they declared flag-burning is a constitutional right (still not overturned by a constitutional amendment)?

I have used the "if you don't like it, get out" argument when I saw someone else claim that this country is too "puritanical." When I said that, I was not restricting anybody's freedom. I was pointing out that they have the freedom to choose somewhere else that they believe might be more free than this country. And yes, there are some countries that might have more freedom than we do. Denmark might indeed be more free than the U.S. More freedom there doesn't mean, as you put it, that we are not "free at all."

Choose which place in the world gives you the most freedom. It might not be the U.S. after all. We have a lot of freedoms here, which are not being eroded. But they might not be enough to suit you. And I say again that the expression "it's a free country" is merely a slogan.

Answer 4

It indeed is quite free. You just posted this question didn't you?

Judging by the nutjobs that run around the country such as Cindy Sheehan without any problems, I'd say we were quite free.

Many would gladly take the freedom of others away, for instance, the leftists that want "freedom from religion", in other words, no religious freedom.



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I sure do have a point dumbass, you're the one that doesn't have a clue about Russia. Nice try at posing to be informed. It didn't work.

I can really sense you're open-minded.. So open-minded your brains have fallen out.

You've proven yourself to be an anti-freedom zealot. You hate the "freedom of religion" yourself! Why are you such a hypocritical oxymoron? You likely don't understand freedom at all. You're mindset is EXACTLY the opposite of what this country was founded upon.

http://www.zombietime.com

Answer 5

The best I can do is point to the Bill of Rights of the Constitution. It's probably the most important part. The first ten amendments spell out the rights of the citizens of this country, and most of our freedoms. I don't know a lot about the foundations of the governments of other countries, but the basic freedoms and rights of the people of the U.S. are specifically spelled out in the document on which our government is based. The right to free speech, the right to assemble, freedom from unreasonable search...assured by the most important document we have. I'm sure citizens of other countries have these freedoms, but in this country, they are in writing. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

I agree with Kerry and make a mockery of the No Child Left Behind Act. "The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides." Jules Verne. Liberty is worth paying for. "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
Mahatma Gandhi. The strong forgive. The weak are unforgiving. I thought the best way to answer such a lengthy discussion was to use some quotes & back up with my opinion. HEY! We have similiarities in freedom like the nudist colonies! EW!

Answer 7

First, I'm Australian.

But from my viewpoint, I seems as though the personal freedoms of America have eroded over time. Religion plays a huge part in the whole 'being free thing'. An example - How many times on Yahoo answers alone do I see someone asking about abortion and a million people jump down their throat with 'IT'S WRONG, YOU CAN'T ABORT.' Oh, but they can. It is legal, yet people force their own cultural, personal or religious beliefs down the throats of others.... it's stifling..

Answer 8

Our freedoms have been completely eroded by both the conservative government and the Christian majority who demand that the conservative government make laws to satisfy their repressed view of how things should be.

We are very close to becoming a theocracy, with "God's Candidate" in the White House. If you say anything against the leadership, you are written off as a raging libtard anti-patriot who is in cahoots with the liberal media to destroy freedom by betraying us to the enemy.

And then there's the fear they are constantly screaming about. I truly don't think we have that much to fear, but as long as they keep talking about the fear, people will stay afraid and let them do whatever they want to.

I am a patriot too... I love this country and I mourn the freedoms that my son obviously will not enjoy (freedom of speech being the main one). And my dad, a major conservative patriot, was very vocal about that issue... he may not agree with the raging libtards out there (his daughter being one of them) are saying but he'd say he fought for their rights to say it.

As much as I'm peeved at what is transpiring here, I don't think there are any other countries out there. But that doesn't mean I'm okay with losing some of our freedoms here. I want us to GROW as a country and I think the only way to do that is to embrace our secular roots.

Answer 9

I have lived in many parts of the world and have a bachelor degrees in Political Science and History. You can't find another country that's any freer than ours. In fact, I believe we have too many freedoms. You mentioned eroded freedoms which, I suppose you credit that to the Patriot Act. That's there to save lives and is temporary. Why do you think almost everybody wants to come here? I've heard America haters wanting to move to Europe. I've been there. Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. What other freedoms do you want anyway?

Answer 10

I think we enjoy certain freedoms that some coutries do not have. But to say that WE alone are the "land of the free" is ignorant and self-centered. There are many many countries that enjoy the same, if not more freedoms than we do.