Coughi
New member
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2019
- Messages
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- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
What is Freedom?
Far too often I've felt like us as a society have discussed freedom in the constraints of wealth. It's common how we talk about the property rights of rich landowners to do as they please, or for corporations to be free from regulation. However, when we talk about freedom in regards to those empoverished, we often use the notion that availability is simply enough. People will argue that the working-class people in our society have the freedom to purchase food, healthcare, clean water, housing, the freedom to get a job, etc. and that their lack of acquiring these essentials, is a result of their blatant inability. In general, we often don't talk about barrier of entries that most of our freedoms require.
For instance, one must have a certain skill, or have access to capital to purchase food, healthcare, clean water, housing, etc. One must have access to housing or have gained some skill in their childhood or through their education to obtain a valuable job that will pay them to provide for their needs. And that's the thing, the things mentioned above are literal necessities that are essential to the human condition. In other words, having food, healthcare, clean water, housing, a job, wifi, and etc. are all fundamental for an individual to maintain their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
How can a homeless person possibly recover and obtain a job without help from an outside source? How can a person born to a disadvantaged household where they don't have access to clean water or a high functioning education system acquire the skills he or she needs to further his or her life? Or, how can a single mother raise her child if she comes down with a health condition and doesn't have the healthcare to pay for it?
Far too often, we demonize the individual and their circumstances without considering the circumstances that led to the creation of that individual. If you are born into poverty, you are at a massive disadvantage and your ability to achieve socioeconomic mobility is insanely impaired to that of a wealthy or middle-classer. Then combine that with the compounding negative effects that occur when one is deprived of essential human necessities and ask yourself: Are we doing enough to help those in need??
Simply put, we are not. The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world and so we should be able to do better for our citizens. We should be able to guarantee a high quality of living for every individual within our society by granting everyone the right to housing, food, clean water, healthcare, education, wifi, a job, etc. One shouldn't have barriers that would inhibit one from success. Instead, if you live here, you should be given every opportunity to succeed.
Far too often I've felt like us as a society have discussed freedom in the constraints of wealth. It's common how we talk about the property rights of rich landowners to do as they please, or for corporations to be free from regulation. However, when we talk about freedom in regards to those empoverished, we often use the notion that availability is simply enough. People will argue that the working-class people in our society have the freedom to purchase food, healthcare, clean water, housing, the freedom to get a job, etc. and that their lack of acquiring these essentials, is a result of their blatant inability. In general, we often don't talk about barrier of entries that most of our freedoms require.
For instance, one must have a certain skill, or have access to capital to purchase food, healthcare, clean water, housing, etc. One must have access to housing or have gained some skill in their childhood or through their education to obtain a valuable job that will pay them to provide for their needs. And that's the thing, the things mentioned above are literal necessities that are essential to the human condition. In other words, having food, healthcare, clean water, housing, a job, wifi, and etc. are all fundamental for an individual to maintain their life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
How can a homeless person possibly recover and obtain a job without help from an outside source? How can a person born to a disadvantaged household where they don't have access to clean water or a high functioning education system acquire the skills he or she needs to further his or her life? Or, how can a single mother raise her child if she comes down with a health condition and doesn't have the healthcare to pay for it?
Far too often, we demonize the individual and their circumstances without considering the circumstances that led to the creation of that individual. If you are born into poverty, you are at a massive disadvantage and your ability to achieve socioeconomic mobility is insanely impaired to that of a wealthy or middle-classer. Then combine that with the compounding negative effects that occur when one is deprived of essential human necessities and ask yourself: Are we doing enough to help those in need??
Simply put, we are not. The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world and so we should be able to do better for our citizens. We should be able to guarantee a high quality of living for every individual within our society by granting everyone the right to housing, food, clean water, healthcare, education, wifi, a job, etc. One shouldn't have barriers that would inhibit one from success. Instead, if you live here, you should be given every opportunity to succeed.
