Hi. I would like to know as an American what makes the US so free. We say that we’re the land of the free, what do we mean by that? What freedoms does the US have that let’s say Austria or Switzerland doesn’t?

38 comments

  2. Generally speaking, we believe very firmly in the rights of self-determination in lieu of your status by birth or race or ethnicity. Obviously there are exceptions to that, but guess what…those people are free to think that way just like I am free to call those people morons.

    Some of the freedom is tied to space. We have a lot of area to explore, to escape from others, and to live away from others should we choose. Our lives are usually much less regulated than those in other western countries.

    Our freedom of speech protections are some of the strongest in the world. The entire Bill of Rights is pretty rad.

  3. When the USA was founded, it was one of the only (if not the first) countries that guaranteed a variety of individual freedoms and liberties, such as freedom of religion, the press, and of speech. Freedom of speech in particular has been a major aspect of American culture because at the time, most other countries were ruled by monarchies where speech against them could easily result with someone being thrown in jail or executed. The focus on protecting individual freedoms is something that has persisted in US culture and politics to the modern day and is still enshrined in our constitution. We haven’t been perfect, for example slavery persisted in the country for nearly 100 years, but in general we’ve been a country that leans towards enabling individuals with liberty over restricting them

  5. The 1st, 2nd, and 5th amendments are the pillars upon which our freedom is based

    the 9h should be there as well but the level of understanding and respect for it prevent it to be one

  6. Here is what I would say makes us free:

    1. Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion

    2. Right to bear Arms, meaning guns are a Right

    3. Starting a Buisness here in America, this one is the biggest one because people can start from nothing and work their way up the ladder!

    4. There are so many US States and overseas Territories they feel like they are their own mini countries with their own cultural significances

    5. Its one of the most diverse nations in the world.

    6. Top notch education and Top notch universities

    7. This is a country worth celebrating and visiting!

  7. Multiple countries can be “free”. Americans don’t think that they are in the only free country in the world.

  8. In general:

    We see freedoms as inherit and inalienable and we submit to limitations of those freedoms by the Gov (and others) to live in a society.

    Most other countries see freedom as what is being granted by the Gov/society.

    In practice… these things might not be very different. In theory… they are very different.

  9. >What freedoms does the US have that let’s say Austria or Switzerland doesn’t?

    I don’t think Americans believe those countries are not free

  10. What made the United States unique when it was founded was that the highest power in the country was not a person or a group of people, but a piece of paper.

    The Constitution lists what the government can and can’t do, and nobody can override it. It overrides any law that conflicts with it.

    The most freeing part of the Constitution is the First amendment that guarantees freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and right to petition the government.

    Obviously I don’t think the US is the only “free” country, but it is one of the most free.

    In Austria for example they sent a guy to prison for saying he doesn’t believe there were gas chambers at Auschwitz. Even though the guy is obviously wrong in his opinion, you could never be sent to jail for something like that in the US. In that way Austria doesn’t have full freedom of speech in the same way the US does.

    In the US you have the right to be an idiot.

  12. I find it weird that whenever this comes up it’s focused on comparing us with the 10-15 countries in the world that have a similar level of freedom instead of the 180 that do not.

  14. The way the Constitution is written. Some of the advantage has been worn away over the past 200+ years via interpretation and judicial review, but our Constitution is a document focused on limiting the scope of the federal government, not expanding it.

  15. > What freedoms does the US have that let’s say Austria or Switzerland doesn’t?

    Our freedoms are not necessarily exclusive. Austria and Switzerland can be lands of the free too. Freedom is not contingent upon the rest of the world being less free than us.

    A conversation can be had about how our freedoms compare to theirs, and I think we’d do very well in that regard. But the phrase “land of the free” predates most of the modern elements, as well as the unification of a lot of European countries.

  17. It is the original country, possibly the only country, which at its very core foundation is built upon the concept of the government functioning at the pleasure of the people and not the other way around. That identity permeates through everything, or at least ideally it should if any governance is to adhere to the American principles.

    Read the constitution and every bit of it outlines not what citizens are allowed to do but rather what the government is allowed to do. It all reads that the government shall not infringe upon the various freedoms of the people. The government is designed to check and balance every aspect of itself to prevent it from ever exceeding the power of the people.

    Compare this to other countries where it is pretty much the opposite. People are only granted freedoms by the will of the government.

    I know this is a lot of high minded stuff but this is the ideology that drives life in the US and it plays a part in countless ways. Individual freedom is and should be priority number 1 and at the forefront of the thought process behind governance. It is the only country which is founded on individuals being inherently free while choosing to sacrificing certain rights for the sake of governance. Most other nations are founded first on the power of the sovereign government rather than the people’s own sovereignty.

    This doesn’t mean America is the only “free” country. Any country is arguably free in other ways. I’m just trying to point out what freedom means in the uniquely American way.

  18. Also, USA is the least likely nation on earth to be invaded by a foreign power in a conventional sense.

    Because of geography advantages and sheer size. And its investment in the military.

    Plus the amount of guns civilians have, for resistance.

  19. I’d say it’s the fact that you can say something about an elected official, and as long as you aren’t threatening their life, you won’t face any legal consequences.

  20. We were the first nation on earth birthed with the idea that human beings are endowed with the **RIGHT** to **pursue the happiness** they desire.

    Think about that.

    It was considered so important to the Founders that it is included in the very first sentence of our Declaration of Independence. Guaranteeing someone’s right to vote or speech or religion is obviously significant, but to believe that EVERYONE is entitled to pursue happiness is one of the best things about this country.

  21. In the modern day there are a lot of countries we would consider free. Americans don’t claim to be the land of the free thinking we are the only free country. We claim being the land of the free because we like viewing ourselves as the leaders of the free world. Historically, there is an argument to be made to support this claim. From the beginning the US has pushed human rights forward. Starting with the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights which built off and influenced the English Bill of Rights and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen respectively. In more relatively recent history we have the Nuremberg trials that were spearheaded by the US and then the Cold War following where the US was the unquestioned dominant power in the west. Since we have been the dominant democracy in the world thus claiming the title of leaders of the free world. Yes, the US has its own shady history but objectively we have pushed human rights forward. Considering this history our culture of “freedom” isn’t a surprise even though we aren’t the only “free” country.

  22. >What freedoms does the US have that let’s say Austria or Switzerland doesn’t?

    I’ll take Austria for an example. A woman was convicted of blasphemy for discussing a certain religious figure. That would be unconstitutional in the US. Switzerland also has laws that would be struck down under the US First Amendment:

    >In Switzerland, the flipside of free speech comes mainly in the form of three legal provisions: article 261 of the Criminal Code, which forbids racist and anti-religious statements; article 173, which outlaws attacks against “personal honour”; and article 28 of the Civil Code, which guarantees “personality rights”.

    https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/free-speech-or-hate-speech-_the-legal-difficulties-of-online-expression-in-switzerland/43603342

  23. To clarify though those freedoms have a limit , for example you can’t yell certain things in certian places for safety reasons. Also there are consequences for certain speech like hate speech.

  24. Free-er. It’s currently a place where one’s words won’t get you locked up for the most part. Where making fun of or seemingly even threatening politicians won’t get you locked up.

  25. Multiple countries can be free, but remember, when the song was written it was literally only us. Most all other nations were monarchies, certainly those in Europe.

  27. Even most western countries don’t protect freedom of speech like us.

    But many western countries have similar freedoms to us. But in general, we have less regulation and taxes which creates more opportunity .

  28. You can start with the Bill of Rights, which limits the government and protects our rights and freedoms. The reason we’re allowed to have discussions about the government and criticize it is because they can’t arrest us for having and expressing an opinion.

  29. Outside perspective: Historically speaking America was alaways a free country (mostly) can’t say that about Austria for example

  30. I feel less free in Europe, but that has nothing to do with how EU or US laws are framed.

    In the US, I can hop in my car and drive from NJ to Maine..or New Mexico or wherever, for thousands of miles and still be able to talk to people about things they and I both understand. It gives a tremendous feeling of freedom and strange peace of mind.

    In Europe languages and cultures shift every few hundred miles, sometimes way shorter and within the same country. I don’t feel trapped per se, but it’s not a liberating sensation either.

  31. We are born free. Our government doesn’t grant us rights like in many places in the world. It acknowledges the unalienable rights we are endowed with simply for being born.

    >We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

  32. Many things makes America free, but one of the more clear manifestations of it is the **1st Amendment.** Backed up by it’s buddy, **2nd Amendment**

  33. A culture and legal history that prizes tolerating minority beliefs and freedom of expression a fragile thing we have to safeguard against fads.

  36. The first amendment, also known as part of the bill of rights. The United States practices freedom of speech or expression with no exceptions.

    Other countries usually have some exception such as “under reasonable circumstances”.

  37. It’s the “land of the free” because it was the world’s first country founded on liberal principles. Europe copied American liberalism

  38. we’re not the only country who’s citizens enjoy freedom, but in the spirit of your question, which reads as “what makes American freedom different from European countries”, I’ll try to answer.

    I think the greatest difference is where laws are made. In the United States it’s more likely to have the laws that impact one’s day to day life made at the local and state level. Of course it’s true that this happens in European countries and it’s also true that federal laws impact US citizens day to day life too. But it does seem that the US is more oriented around setting most laws at a local and state level and European countries tend to pass more laws at a national level.

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