Freedom: Choices, Critical Thinking, Responsibility - Essay Example

Only the rich and the elite enjoyed diverse civil freedoms, such as political participation and access to education, while the rest of the working class and the poor had little to no freedoms. Women and the minority also rarely enjoyed freedoms before. Some people also now think that freedom simply means doing what they want, without thinking about the consequences of their actions. Their version of freedom can be considered as selfish and inconsiderate. My idea of freedom, however, does not revolve around the wants of the “self” alone, but includes a strong sense of accountability.

Freedom includes interdependent actions, because each process is important in making the right choices in life. Freedom involves the interdependent process of having choices, using critical thinking to choose the right option, and being responsible for the choices people make. Freedom represents the process of having choices, because access to choices means that people can choose among a wide set of alternatives. There is no freedom if people are only left with a single choice. For instance, a communist government has created a single-school system, which teaches communist ideals, attitudes, and practices.

Students will not have any other choice, which means that they have no freedom to choose other schools, and this is not freedom at all, because they have no freedom to choose. In addition, choices mean no restrictions.. If they do not know how the government can help them, mere availability of options does not lead to real freedom. Freedom must be known and duly experienced too. Freedom further includes using critical thinking to choose the right option. Critical thinking refers to thinking about how people think; it means reflecting on assumptions and the reasons behind decisions.

I argue that people cannot be free, if they cannot think critically about their choices. For instance, some people vote their politicians, because the latter are popular. They are no longer critically thinking about their decisions. They can vote freely alright, but they are not free to make the right decisions. People can be free if they critically assess their candidates and choose the most deserving using logical and not emotional criteria. In addition, freedom concerns being equipped by critical thinking skills.

People should be educated to think critically. When the society does not train citizens to be critical thinkers, it is also limiting their choices by allowing them to be “passive” or “ignorant.” Moreover, critical thinking will help people make informed choices. People will gather more information about their decisions if they are critical thinkers. They will also assess the accuracy and credibility of the sources of the information they are using. When they think and make decisions this way, it means that they have the freedom to make the right and informed choices.

Freedom also refers to being responsible for the choices people make. Freedom includes developing and asserting a sense of accountability. People should act freely, but they should also think about the consequences of their decisions. This knowledge reinforces freedom, because it