Freedom

By Danny P.

In my eyes, freedom is important and should not be taken for granted. All of us should consider ourselves lucky to be citizens of a “free” country and not living somewhere in which the conditions of life are tough on everyone and everything. My grandparents lived through WWII in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation. They saw many close relatives and friends taken from them and put in prison camps. I have always counted my blessings and been thankful that I was born here in the United States and never had to experience those kinds of things. There are other ways to look at freedom and one of those ways is by examining the legal system. I understand that freedom is taken away from criminals in an attempt to secure the safety of society as a whole. When I think of people like Amanda Knox and Ruben Carter, it is sometimes hard to determine what’s true or false in murder cases. Freedom for Hurricane Carter was an especially harder goal for him considering certain attitudes towards African Americans at the time of his conviction. I, myself, have been charged with a felony and it’s never a fun situation when your freedom comes into question. Luckily, everything worked out for me in the end but it was a long process. I was not a happy camper when I thought about all the local criminals that continue to walk free each day. It made me think of other people who serve time in jail instead of the real bad guys. Nelson Mandela over two decades in prison for doing what he thought was right. If you know your history, South Africa had a lot of racial tension in those days. In conclusion, I believe that freedom is perceived as being free from persecution and having the free will to think and feel for oneself.