What is freedom?

Google defines it as “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”

I like to add to it:

Any system or person that imposes their authority over someone must be justified. If it can’t be justified then we must find something better to replace it.

I don’t think freedom means the ability to do whatever you want at any time but rather recognizing the rights every human being needs to live (food, water, shelter, etc.) while also extending dignity and opportunity. There’s also the freedom to express thoughts, to worship, to create.

Life is precious. And no person is an island. Freedom is also recognizing the constraints of living in a finite world with finite resources that must be shared.

How will we recognize freedom if we have never tasted it?

The freedom to pick a job or to starve is not a choice.