What Does Freedom Mean To Me?

By Yosef Chincholker

May 11, 2010

Freedom means so much to U.S. citizens and is very important to us. We all need freedom so we can reach our full potential. Unfortunately, not everyone always has freedom and even today people still suffer from oppression.

Just a few years ago, in the 1960s, people in the U.S.A. didn't have equal rights. African Americans were persecuted just because of their skin color. They were forced to go to different schools, drink from different water fountains, and couldn't even sit with whites on the bus.

Some of our famous rights are Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Assembly. Without these important rights we wouldn't really be free.

In the 1800s slavery was horrible. Slave owners treated their slaves like dirt, and the slaves did really hard work. For what? To serve the people that they hated so very much. They were slaves from the point they were born to the point they died, and they didn't get to do anything useful with their lives. They just gave their whole lives to their cold slave owners. It continued even into the 1960s, only it wasn't slavery: It was plain abuse.

Whites got better jobs; whites could go to restaurants; whites could go the movies and to hotels. Blacks couldn't do any of that stuff. Blacks were truly in a different, dreadful world and people were too cold hearted to do anything about it. People that were racist, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), would terrorize blacks and burn down their homes for no reason. Thank G-d, those problems were taken care of.

There are some very famous African Americans who helped change how it was for African Americans, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks. This abuse continued on for several years until Martin Luther King, Jr., changed it all. King made protests and famous speeches against racism. He fought for an end of this horrible racist abuse. He made a famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial called "I Have a Dream." He was killed at the young age of 39, and it was a very sad time. But after that amazing speech he gave, the United States changed miraculously.

Since the 1800s people have been coming from all corners of the world just to have our freedoms. People from Russia, Germany and Poland came rushing in right after the dreadful tragedy when more than 6,000,000 Jews died just for being Jewish. Also, after communism fell, people came from everywhere, even from the most remote places to have freedom like we have here in America. We have freedoms that they could only dream of.

Thanks to all the people who helped our country develop: the presidents, all the soldiers who died for our country, and all our other heroes who made our country what it is today.

America today is an amazing country with freedom and safety. People are free to roam without any fear. We are a well-developed country, probably the best developed country in the world. Today the Statue of Liberty stands tall and welcomes newcomers. It resembles freedom, justice, liberty and equality. On the 4th of July, boats come from all over to see the amazing sight of fireworks at the Statue of Liberty.