One significant aspect of American culture includes the value of freedom. Since the declaration of the United States of America as its own country was formed on the basis of freeing themself from the monarchical rule of Great Britain, the idea of freedom has become one of the integral aspects of the American identity as a whole. This idea of freedom can range from freedom of speech, freedom to vote, religious freedom, to the freedom to bear arms. Many, if not most, of these ideas were declared by the founding fathers of America in the constitution, which is the document that has been the backbone of how the American government has been run for centuries. Such revolutionary declarations of freedom were seen as extremely necessary by the founding fathers of America since the country itself is based on a revolutionary movement. This is why these ideas were so prominent to the citizens of America in 1776, and continue to be strong-held beliefs for many American individuals today.
Personally, while I believe the idea of freedom is to be greatly appreciated, I feel as though the way it has been written in the constitution and implemented into our judicial system has been, at times, more harmful than helpful. For the freedom to vote, I believe it is wonderful that every single individual who is an American citizen has a voice in being able to choose who they would like to represent. However, some caveats of this “freedom to vote” ban those who have previously been incarcerated (even if such charges are no longer considered a capital punishment) as well as those who are not able to gain citizenship (illegal immigrants and/or those who have been denied or are in the process of becoming a citizen). Furthermore, those who are uneducated about the ways of the legal system are also allowed to vote which could be detrimental to certain political outcomes if such individuals are not completely informed about what they are voting for/against. For the right to bear arms freedom, this may have made sense during the days of the revolution in terms of being able to stand up against the monarchy, but today this constitutional right has done much more harm than good. Even though some may argue the right to bear arms is used for safety and security reasons only, much destruction has been done due to the access to guns which is almost incomprehensibly accessible to all. Such tragedies include police brutality, gang violence, homicidal and suicidal incidents, and mass shootings including the most infamously American school shootings. Last but not least on my rant on American “freedoms” includes freedom of speech. While this was an additional wonderful tactic during the revolution and is wonderful in terms of spreading positivity and informing the public, this freedom has allowed the occurrence of spreading false information (some so harmful as to create conspiracy cult groups such as QAnon), causing panic, allowing hate crimes, as well as many other harmful incidents.
Other cultures outside of the U.S. may view this cultural aspect of freedom as a privilege. While I can go on about the problems which the freedoms in America have allowed for, individuals in other societies do not have the opportunity to complain about such inconveniences. For example, even though I had much to say about the problems about the exceptions for the freedom to vote, non-democratic nations do not have the opportunity to have a voice in who represents them (such as North Korea and Russia which are dictatorships). Furthermore, many countries, such as China and North Korea, do not have the freedom of speech which subjects all media outlets to censoring by their government as well as capital punishment for citizens of such nations who speak out against their government.
This exercise has helped me prepare for my time abroad in that it has aiding me in being able to check my privilege. While I am the type of person who doesn’t hesitate in pointing out the injustices of the government in the nation I live in, I do not remind myself often enough of how lucky I am to be able to voice such concerns. Although I do not believe I will ever cease to be bothered by the injustices I see around me, I now have given myself the opportunity to recognize that in the presence of other nations I must check my privilege and my societal situation before I react.