What is true freedom ? Is it the ability to make choices? Do we really have true freedom? Freedom is the feeling you experience when you are not obligated to obey anyone and can act as you please. But are we truly free? Even if we are, are we free enough to do whatever we wish? My answer to that is no . Logically speaking, one might think we are free, since we do not have to obey anyone—except for laws, which everyone must follow. We are said to have "free will," as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution . Yet even with this so-called freedom, there are limitations, and these limits make me question what true freedom really is. For example, in " The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian ," we see that even though Victor had legal freedom, there were still constraints to how much of it they could have; there was discrimination, isolation, and stereotypes ....
Click Play Theme to set the mood 🎧 While reading the ICE #1 prompt, I couldn't help but wonder who Benjamin Banneker really was. My wonder was driven by the thought that I had never heard his name, which was unusual, as he must have been famous enough to be a topic of an AP Language essay prompt and to have written a letter to Thomas Jefferson. I decided to do some research to uncover his extraordinary accomplishments, as I was curious after reading the fairly long list of his occupations mentioned in the prompt: Astronomer, SOS, mathematician, poet, etc. Banneker lived his entire life in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he farmed tobacco on a modest plot of land. Banneker constructed his famous clock when he was only 22 years old. In an age when timepieces were still somewhat rare in the American colonies, visitors came from near and far to see a working clock built by a young man of color. Famous political figures widely recogn...