What is it to be free? What does it mean to have one’s freedom? When asking the younger generation this question, the answer is always the same, "freedom means I can do what I want," literally meaning the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Now I agree with this to a certain extent, but I believe that we are limiting ourselves mentally and philosophically by just saying "I may do as I please," and not asking more questions to determine the extent of our freedom. I refer to the more essential human freedoms that Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed in: freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom from wants, and freedom from fears. All of which I still believe haven’t been completely attained and we are still fighting for today. The state of one being free has forever been a controversial topic among every civilization since the dawn of mankind. For millennia humans of every race, color, gender, and size, have fought for their freedom and the chance to be relinquished from the chains of restraint and suppression. However, our definition of freedom has changed. Today’s generation has a nebulous definition of a flawed idea of freedom that I feel is pushing us back mentally to archaic ways of thinking. Just to say, "I may do as I want" is to put a small sticker on a term that means the entire universe to us as a civilization. I mean for the Lord’s sake our country was founded based upon the idea of every aspect of freedom, not just because a few Brits wanted to, "do what they want!" A huge part of the idea of being free is being able to express oneself in a manner seen fit. For years people lived under restrictions, told how to speak, dress, how to conduct oneself in public, or even how to act towards their own spouse. One of the main reasons the United States of America was formed was because people wanted to be able to express themselves and not live in fear of the reprimand th