Four Freedoms

The basic idea of the four freedoms has changed drastically from the times of the 1940s to the current time we are living in now. In the 1940s, the freedoms that people were promised to receive weren’t for all people of different races and they were different from what the four freedoms had to offer the common good of society compared to our time now. In present time, people are more accepted for who they are and what race they are. Also, almost everyone in America has the privilege to enjoy the perks of what the four freedoms promises Americans.As a nation the meaning of the four freedoms has changed overtime and the people’s tolerance of each other no matter what race, skin color, or where they are from has changed the freedoms largely over a period of 60-70 years.

The freedom that I think has changed the most out of the four freedoms is the freedom of speech. Back in the 1940’s racial borders would prevent black people from being taken seriously if they were to speak out on their own opinions and the way they see things. There was still this sense of racism in the 1940’s and African-Americans were still in the struggle to get the same civil rights as the white man.Also, if a black man was ever to speak out against the government he would be punished for even saying anything. An example of this was when Martin. Luther King. Jr.

spoke out his opinion and started peaceful protests that would eventually get him in trouble. He ended up being sent to jail for sharing his opinion on black civil rights. Overtime he was killed by a James Earl Ray by assassination. In our present time we’ve learned to accept what everyone has to say and it’s respect to speak out on your opinion and there are no racial barriers.An example of freedom of speech today is Barack Obama. He believed and throughout his campaign for presidency proclaimed that healthcare should be available for every American. Before in the 1940’s a black man wouldn’t be taken seriously and a black man wouldn’t see the point of speaking out his opinion when it doesn’t matter to anyone else.

In comparison from back then to this point of time the freedom of speech has changed and people have learned to be more acceptable or open to whatever anyone else has to say no matter who the person is, what color their skin is or where they are from.Everyone truly does have the right now to say however they feel in America. The freedom that I think has changed the least is the freedom of fear. In the 1940’s the whole country has a sense of togetherness since Roosevelt was trying to unite our nation to fight back against Japan and Germany. World War II inserted a sense of fear into us when they bombed Pearl Harbor and we were all scared that other countries would take over ours. Roosevelt preached that if he country all stuck together we would do just fine and win this war as long as we were all a team.Everyone in America feared that we would be attacked and it relates to our time now in a way.

When 9’11 happened in 2001 fear struck us. We couldn’t believe that airplanes were coming down and destroying massive buildings. We never expect anything like that to happen to us and we feared, “What if we were next? ” As a nation we fought back against the terrorists and captured Osama Bin Laden the leader of Al-Qaeda, the terrorist group that bombed our country, and we showed the world that America shouldn’t be messed with because we are all one big community of a billion people.The people of America put trust in our government to do the right thing and they did. Overtime things have stayed the same in our nation and the unity to keep the rights we are promised as American citizens has drove us to make our country better. As Americans we know we are in good hands with the safety that the marines, army, air force and navy give us. The freedom that I think is the most important is the freedom from want.

The freedom from want is to not want anything you can’t have and not being able to have it ever.In the 1940’s the freedom from want was available to all people besides people who were segregated against. The certain groups were Japanese, African-Americans, and sometimes Jewish people. For example, Japanese people were segregated against because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor and everyone thought all Japanese people were spies. Also, African-Americans were treated wrong just because of their history as slaves and they white man thinking they’re better than them. Another group were the Jews because Jews over the history of time were blamed for anything bad ever happening.Jews were always looked down by society and it’s sad that they couldn’t get the rights they were promised to have as American citizens.

In our present time everyone has the opportunity to be whoever they are trying to be. Black people earned the right to be at equal status as white people. An example is Barack Obama and his life goal. Barack Obama knew from an early age what he wanted to do and he did it. He works really hard in school, did everything that could get him to where he is now and never took a bad turn in life.Back then it was a joke to think a black man would ever be President of the United States, but he proved the world wrong. Back then you would never think these people would have these rights, but they do now and everything is for the better since everyone can earn whatever they want to do as long as they set their minds to it.

The freedom that in my eyes is the least important is the freedom of religion. The freedom of religion is being able to practice any religion of your own choice.In the 1940’s people were certainly able to practice any religion they want, but some religions were frowned upon and considered against the law. An example is the Ku-Klux-Klan and their practices in the 1940s. They used to murder black people, Jews and people who didn’t fit in with their society. Eventually this would become a religion for this group. In the 1940’s not every religion was accepted, but still is the same now.

It’s not about the spiritual thoughts of hate against different races that got them in trouble, but the things they actually did physically that made the religion frowned upon and against the law.Now people are accepting any religion that practices spiritually, but when it comes to physical or verbal practices that hurt people then it’s against the law. The government cracks down on most of these hate groups, but the thing is you can’t stop anyone from what they want to do. Times have changed, but the ability to practice any religion you want will stay the same. The four freedoms have stayed the same and changed over a series of time. We consider the freedoms the same today and they all apply strongly to this day.As a nation we have bettered our self-interest to fit the nation’s best interest and learned to accept each other for who we are.

Every person of every race has all the same rights. There still are those people, who don’t find each other equal, but they can’t publicly speak the way they fell or they will get in trouble. The four freedoms has ensured all Americans the safety, freedom of speech, freedom to practice any religion they want, and the ability to be anyone you want to be if you strive for it. Being American has perks, but the four freedoms help us distinguish us as Americans and make us who we are.