What does it mean to you to be free?
 

Most of the folks who post here are North Americans, Austrailians, or Britains. Our historical view of freedom has some commonality but what interests me is difference. What are you free to do that is most important to you?

Publish my program and information on the Microsoft <cough> file format.

Oh, wait, I'm not free to do that, I could get successfully sued and/or go to jail.

(What, me, bitter? Naa)

C'mon Russ I was trying to be positive for once. I actually deleted the "what institutions are making you less free?" in the name of sunshine and lolipops. So do you blame Bill or copyright law?

Copyright law. It's a full-court press by all five branches of government. That is, legislative, executive, judicial, recording, and Disney.

hmmm...Live with loved ones. Laugh. Complain. Go most places I wish to. Own land/property. Vote. Work. Eat and Drink. The basics.

To dream.

Because freedom means you are in control of your life, you're steering with your choices. Anything is possible, anything can happen. The things that limit you are molehills. Limited in one direction, you can always choose another. When our choices are ours, the sky's the limit, no matter what kind of fulfillment we're seeking - riches, fame, spiritual, or self-actualization. It all starts with freedom.

Simply put, to be "me." To be able to do all the things that I can do and have done, without being labeled suspicious or overly ostracized.

There have to be basic physical, social freedoms and some power to act on one's dreams and choices. Dreams can give that spark to struggle for something different. I'm thinking of the dreams of a woman in a burqua, trained as a doctor in an earlier time, not allowed to work or even teach her daughter to read today.

To have the freedom to innovate.

"Free is when you don't have to pay for nothing
Or do nothing
We want to be free
Free as the wind"

-- Frank Zappa, "Teen-age Wind"

Woops! I guess I should answer my own question. Its important for me to be free to screw up. By that I mean having the freedom to try doing things in a manner harmonious with my nature. In many places today, most, I'd guess in the states, I couldn't have moved my family into the rough shell of a house without a knock on the door from child services or some housing inspection agency. Thus far my wife and I have been free to show our daughters how to act on a dream, how we are willing to sacrifice for something that is our own. I was free to do that here mostly because my neighbors are more concerned with their business that mine and noone yet is overly concerned with instituting codes or code enforcement (marrying a woman of rare patience also helps). The mistakes, except for the sand mound, are my own.

Probably more accurate than the author realized. Freedom is predicated (defined, limited) by two criteria - first meeting your personal responsibilities and second not impeding on the rights of others. Having met both criteria, only then does one have freedom to act, say, move, live, etc as one wishes.

It is rather unfortunate that some are so actively taught their rights but never taught their responsibilities nor respect for the rights of others. Often those less educated earn the labels of 'criminal' or 'anti-social' because they don't understand the full limits or definition of freedom.

So far, every answer has remained without those boundaries.

Yup, tolerance is a pretty key ingredient- and a learned ingredient.

This "freedom has responsibilities" game is merely a more sophisticated version of Lucy pulling Charlie Brown's football away.

"Sure", says the Authority, "You have your rights. But you have to use them responsibly."

"OK, then, who defines Responsibility", asks the Subject.

"Why," says the Authority, grinning wolfishly, "I do, of course".

I have the freedom to disregard any authority I don't recognize. But somewhere everyone has some authority to which they suscribe. I guess that would be true freedom; the freedom to follow who/whatever you want.