Grade 9
Teacher: Shane Lunceford
The roar of a single
cannon echoes across the battle field, long lines of rushing infantry sweep
toward one another, the battle for the ultimate freedom began in the American
Revolution. When our forefathers wrote the Declaration of Independence, we saw
the need for freedom and decided to grasp it for ourselves. Out of the horrendous
revolution, America gained the most precious commodity of all, freedom. What
America means to me is freedom.
Freedom is a
guideline on everything in our country. The constitution is a statement, in
writing, of the freedom in our lives. Without freedom we would be nothing but
slaves. We would be oppressed people slogging through the day wondering when we
would have the time to eat or sleep. Freedom prevents this existence. We must
guard this freedom fiercely. Thomas Paine once said," He that would make
his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he
violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself."
With our freedom comes responsibility to guard others' freedom. We must strive
every moment of everyday to be worthy deaths of the men in the American
Revolution and other wars to protect our freedom.
Our entire economic
state of affairs depends on the freedom to do what we can to succeed.
Capitalism is an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the
means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and
maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as
contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth. It says that it
is," Maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations..."
The only way they can do this is with freedom. Without it the government could
take control of everything that they have. We need freedom so that enterprising
young people will go into the business world and make money to funnel into the
economy. Without freedom our economy would crumble.
In this world many
would love to have even a tiny amount of the freedom that we enjoy here. Many
people that try repeatedly to get into America die or are turned away yet still
try to get back in. Chinese fleeing their oppressed lives, pay years of saved money
to get shoved into cargo containers for three weeks, enduring horrible
claustrophobia and the stink of unwashed bodies. They live in their own feces
and waste living off only a cup of rice and a cup of water per day. These
people see the value of freedom and will do anything to get it. People from
Mexico live for weeks in the desert and are hounded by the border patrol. They
endure untold hardships just to toil in America, they do it all for freedom.
Immigrants come from other countries like Korea, Vietnam, China, Mexico,
Guatemala, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and many others. Freedom is the fire that
keeps them going; they have never had it and will do anything to obtain it.
Currently America is
trying to give other countries the gift of freedom. We have taken back
Afghanistan from the Taliban and have been trying to facilitate a freedom based
society. They have been oppressed by their tyrannical dictators and many, especially
women, have never had even something as simple as an education. They have to
dress a certain way and look a certain way. If you speak out you're dead, if
you dress the wrong way your dead. We have finally given them hope for a free
life. We have been trying to do the same for Iraq. In that country a democratic
election will be held in a couple of months to elect a new president. A new
Iraqi constitution, similar to the American one was drafted in November of
2003. These are great leaps and bounds for freedom in all places.
In one word, all of
America can be encompassed by freedom. It is the fabric of our society and what
makes our great country tick. We are extremely blessed to have this commodity.
In the future maybe all countries big and small will all express, freedom as we
do.