The Value of Freedom

One way to measure the value of freedom is to look at what people are willing to sacrifice in order to obtain it. While it sometimes happens where someone who has freedom takes it for granted because of ignorance to its price, taking the time to look at history and even the present is evidence enough that freedom is not overrated. If anything, there's more of a danger of cheapening the concept, which is a tragedy in itself. Ignorance is also a poor excuse when information is available now more than ever.

There are many types of freedom as well as degrees of it. It's also important to realize that people may have a freedom but not use it to its full potential. With political freedom as an example, a person may have the right to vote but for whatever reason not use it. This is why some freedoms do have a responsibility side to them, including to honor the people who served and died for us to have it.

Economic freedom is an interesting concept in the United States that the more you learn about it, the more successful you can become financially. Through high school and college, I was never really taught how our economic system worked from a practical standpoint. Having an interest in business however, I've learned through books and experience that it's more beneficial to build a small business in the U.S. than be an employee.

The school system as a whole really doesn't teach a lot about our economic freedom, but children in other countries are taught how to make the best of our system of economics. This is why many people have been able to immigrate here with little capital and become successful business owners seemingly overnight. There's still work involved for them, but it also has a lot to do with how a person thinks. The great thing is the same economic rules apply to all citizens, and sometimes just the knowledge of a freedom will make you pursue it.

Spiritual and religious freedoms are extremely important as well. Something that's been incredibly interesting to me is researching the Christian history of our country, mainly because I got annoyed with all the people trying to suppress it for whatever reason. I didn't start going to church on a regular basis until I was 19 years old, and it honestly took me some time to discover the realities of what faith can really do.

After growing up in public schools and seeing a lot of teen depression and violence happen even in a rural area, I honestly believe that taking the majority of religious freedom out of schools has been a sad mistake. There has to be a better solutions where students can respect each other and still grow up with that freedom. I think part of the problem is that religious freedom has been treated in such a way where children get the message that it's not important to their school or their teachers. At best that's unintentional, but it's sad how that aspect is ignored when researchers try to analyze social problems in school systems.

Overall, a person's appreciation of freedom comes down to awareness and the willingness to make it part of their everyday life. It's important to educate yourself on your freedoms, and often it does require going out of your way. It's worth doing however, not just for yourself but to help future generations.