“I know it is non-tangible,” Jaime Morales, an immigrant from Mexico, said, “but when I first came to the United States, I saw it everywhere.” Freedom is defined differently by everyone depending on their background. Elementary students hear the word and immediately think of soldiers, their heroes, or the opportunities to choose between options instead of their parents choosing for them. Meanwhile the average hispanic views freedom as a tangible goal which they strive towards. Webster’s Dictionary defines freedom as “the power to determine action without restraint” and “the state of being free.”
When asked what freedom meant, twelve-year-old Nathalia Morales said the term is having more privileges as a result from acting responsibly. “I want freedom from my parents and go to sleepovers.” Next she added how freedom was thought of differently over one hundred years ago. “They should not have treated dark-skinned African Americans like that. It was not their fault. That is how they came. It does not make sense.” She squinted her eyes, looked out the window, and tapped her little-bitty fingers against the wooden table and added, “I remember learning in history that we can say certain things in newspapers and not go to jail.” Nathalia was correctly referring to the first amendment, which includes the freedom of press and is often referred to as vital for ensuring the government does not override its power. Thomas Jefferson, prominently known for writing the Constitution, said, “a republic cannot be both ignorant and free.” He was in favor of a nation whose government did not have official control of published information.
The first amendment also includes the freedom of religion, freedom to peaceably assemble and freedom to petition. These rights are constantly being used and questioned. The Supreme Court is currently working on a case, Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., which challenges whether business owners can conduct their freedom of religion throughout the stores. Through the Affordable Health Care Act, businesses with over fifty employees are required to provide health care for the employees or pay a fine. The health care plan includes paying for contraceptives, some of which the owners are strongly opposed to.
On the other hand, Nathalia’s older sister, Jessica Morales, said, “I have the freedom to become whatever I want and reach my dreams.” The dream of fifteen-year-old Jessica Morales is to earn enough money for her Quinceañera, a religious hispanic celebration of a girl’s transition to womanhood. Jessica is also earning money to go to college and become a pediatrician, hopefully. “I thank God every day for enabling my parents and their families to immigrate to the United States when they were my age. I have so many more opportunities here than I would in Mexico.” Over one thousand miles away in Juárez, Mexico, single mother Yvonne Navarro, was most likely working her eleven-hour shift at the maquiladora, a factory where washing machine parts are made and shipped across the river to El Paso, Texas. She was also earning money for a quinceañera, but for her sixteen-year-old daughter who had to wait an extra year in order to earn enough money for the celebration. “I want to go to college and become a lawyer,” her daughter said. Yvonne’s daughter’s chances of reaching her dreams are slim. There are approximately one hundred public colleges and universities in Mexico; To be admitted into these colleges, students must be ranked as the top students of their class. Jessica has more options in the United States with over one thousand public colleges and universities to choose from.
Jessica’s father, Jaime Morales, and his family moved to California from Guadalajara, Mexico over twenty years ago, referring to the move as the “best and worst decision” he has ever made. “I feel confined here without a high school diploma or degree, but it pays off through the opportunities my daughters have,” he responded in Spanish. “They have the freedom to be whatever they want to be.” His youngest daughter, Nathalia, looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you, Papi,” she said.
“Everybody says freedom is what the soldiers fight for. The kids at school say that is the most important freedom we have.” Nathalia said. Blogger Justin Doolittle asked Nathalia, “So if our military disappeared, then our freedom would disappear with it?” She replied with a confused look and stood up from her chair to check on her hidden stash of cookies in her room. After Nathalia left, he intently looked in the eyes of each person that remained around the table. “Freedom has become a political word that means whatever you need it to mean.” Justin no longer watches sports on television because of the frequent references to freedom and the U.S. military as one entity. “I remember seeing countless tweets during the World Series which thanked our troops for allowing us to live freely. Decades of effective propaganda did this to us. We do not live freely because of what troops are doing today. It is not the eighteenth century.”
The well known quote of “freedom is not free” is viewed differently by everyone. For Jaime Morales, freedom came with a price of moving a thousand miles away from his family, losing opportunities for himself, but gaining infinite choices for his daughters. Jessica Morales can celebrate her Quinceañera this summer and continue to reach her dreams of attending almost any college she would like. Nathalia is free to eat as many cookies as she would like and will later experience the cost of freedom firsthand. And Justin will continue to hate how the word is so easily thrown around but love what it means.
