Defining Freedom – Signature Theatre

Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows.

George Orwell, 1984

We read about freedom, dream about freedom, celebrate the idea of freedom, advocate and hope for freedom, but what do we mean by freedom?

Freedom means many things to many people. Freedom can mean having the opportunity to vote for particular ideas or for people who best represent our views. Freedom can refer to the concept of freedom of speech: the ability to freely voice personal opinions or perspectives. Others may understand freedom in a financial context, where people seek to free themselves of financial debt, outstanding credit and burdensome loans.

But what does true freedom look like? Does it look like a voters ballot or someone walking out of prison? Is it seen in being able to buy anything a person wants or in owing anything to anyone?

Freedom is defined by Merriam Webster as the quality or state of being free, such as:

Freedom is more complicated than being able to do whatever we want. Taken too far, that approach would lead to dangerous anarchyevery person for themselves! Certainly freedom can mean the right to do, think, believe, speak, worship, gather, or act as one pleases, but only until your choices start to infringe on another persons freedoms.

Consider each of our freedoms as fitting into one of two categories: freedoms of and freedoms from. This point was made by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address delivered on January 6, 1941:

We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world.

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitantseverywhere in the world.

The fourth is freedom from fear which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighboranywhere in the world.

That is no vision of a distant millennium. It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Delivers the State of the Union in 1941

In the same speech, Roosevelt said:

There is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:

These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations.

In other words, if the nation loses its liberties, freedoms and opportunities, the nation shall be no more.

Securing freedom from fear and freedom from want almost always includes collective, organized action. That kind of activity is often carried out most effectively and efficiently (although, admittedly, not perfectly) by a governing body of some sort. If we want to live in a society where freedoms are protected and where the opportunity to exercise freedom is assured, we have to rely on some form of governance.

Section Objective: Students will define what freedom means to them and express an appreciation for and understanding of some of the freedoms and rights allotted to United States citizens.

Discussion Questions:

Citations / Further Exploration:The Four Freedoms Speech: https://www.facinghistory.org/universal-declaration-human-rights/four-freedoms-speechFreedom Definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freedom

Exercise: What Can You Do?

Subject(s): English, Theatre, History

Goals: Students will be able to:

Supplies: Paper, pens, pencils, markers, crayons

Set Up:

Discussion:What is required for a freedom or right to exist? What sort of society promotes freedoms? What sort of society can lead to a restriction of rights and freedoms?

Exercise: This is What Freedom Looks Like

Subject(s): English, Theatre, History

Goals: Students will be able to:

Supplies: Paper, pencil/pen/marker or white/chalk board, white board marker/chalk

Set Up:

Discussion:

Excerpt from:

Defining Freedom - Signature Theatre