Freedom and Patriotism, Defined...

GPA Photo Archive/Flickr

Welcome to the July 4/Independence Day weekend. Let's talk about what freedom and patriotism really mean...

FREEDOM is your right to pursue your life as you want to live it. Your freedoms have limits, of course, but only inasmuch as how they relate to others. Your freedoms end if they trample on another person's freedoms.

​We must also be wary of some people's ideas of freedom — describing problematic capitalistic aspects of our society, like private health insurance, as inherently "freedom" is wrong because true freedom would allow you to move freely from one place of employment to another, without worry or consequence of losing health care coverage.

(And no, getting banned on Facebook or Twitter isn't a loss of your freedoms.)

PATRIOTISM is the love you have for your country. But sadly, the idea is often mistaken, particularly by those on the right, as the unfettered love of country. However, similar to how a parent who loves their child, a person can be patriotic and still want to improve their country and direct it on a better path than its currently taking.

A parent may be critical of the actions and choices their child makes, as they want them to do good in this world and not turn into a terrible grown-up. A person's patriotism is the same, and is not diminished if they want their country to improve.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.