"Land of the free," "let freedom ring," "freedom fries." Judging solely by rhetoric, Americans are pretty damn crazy about freedom. From coast to coast, it seems Americans just can't pay enough vocal homage to freedom. However, in all of the talk about cherishing freedom, fighting for freedom and delivering freedom across the globe, the one thing that often seems to be lost is a true understanding of the actual concept of freedom.

Growing up in the United States, you are trained to recognize the "free" status of your homeland. Reading literature and reciting tributes saturated with references to American freedom, a child will find it much easier to get by if they simply acknowledge that, yes, America is, in fact, quite free.

Unfortunately, while the curricula in U.S. schools incorporate a more-than-adequate devotion to the pronunciation of the term freedom, they prove equally inadequate in their focus on explaining said term.

What does it mean to be free? To many Americans, the term means they have the right to purchase a home in the suburbs, own two cars and go to work, free from the human riff-raff to be found in other parts of society. Really, though, freedom means more than enjoying loose restrictions on the consumption of goods and services.

Freedom means being able to congregate publicly without a permit. Freedom means a press with unlimited access to the government. Freedom means the right to speak your mind on the radio without being censored. Freedom means the ability to go to a doctor, make a bank deposit, talk on the phone, belong to a religious organization and check a book out from the library, all without the fear that some government agent might be monitoring you. Freedom means being able to do what you please, so long as you are not causing harm to others. These are all important aspects of freedom that are violated in the United States.

It's peculiar how a society that is so good at preaching about its freedom can be so bad at providing it.

Many Americans feel free because of a perceived lack of governmental interference in their own lives. However, that feeling is artificial. Freedom cannot be gauged by how liberally a government exercises its right to restrict citizens' rights, but only by the actual rights held by a government. Simply because the government is not presently listening to your phone calls — and perhaps it is — does not mean it lacks the ability.

Another sentiment might acknowledge possible government oversight of one's personal affairs but recognize one's own adherence to the law as the personal justification for accepting this invasion of privacy. However, it does not logically follow that this belief and a belief that one is living in freedom are compatible. In fact, this attitude could lead to the acceptance of an authoritarian government because, as long as the individual was not breaking any laws, it would not matter how much the government spied.

It is difficult to understand how Americans can seemingly accept that many of their freedoms are restricted while they continue to pay lip service to the term. In the United States, the word "freedom" almost seems to have been systematically separated from its definition.

The confused American understanding of freedom is certainly troubling in the first place. However, it becomes even more of an issue as the U.S. increasingly engages in freedom-providing foreign policy. It's not that I'm opposed to fighting for freedom; it's simply that the fighting done under this guise usually fails to justify the rhetoric. And, of course, that is not to mention the general moral issue of meddling forcibly in another country's affairs — an entirely different topic.

Americans must soon have an epiphany regarding their idea of freedom. Unfortunately, apathy toward new restrictions of freedom is developing from an inability to understand freedom, and the current government is taking advantage of it. One almost has to wonder if the purchase of freedom fries is being monitored.

Robert Rossmeissl ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in journalism and political science.