Freedom could be Modernity’s most overused yet least understood word. In an American context, freedom evokes self-governance, an individual’s will to pursue happiness, free speech, religious liberty, a market-based economy strewn with endless options, or even the ability to choose one’s own gender.
In short, freedom is autonomy from oppressive authority and societal restraints.
Yet are we freer today? And have those presumed liberties bred a healthier, amiable nation? Quite the contrary: Americans have increasingly become more polarized, lonely, and anxious, symptoms compounded by economic, cultural, and political strife. The pandemic exacerbated or even ignited these troubling trends. Society, as a whole, feels unmoored.
Read Full Article »