Words and meaning: Freedom, justice, and democracy in Baldwin's writing

James Baldwin Wrote Freedom, Justice, Democracy

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines freedom as "the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action." Justice is the "conformity to truth, fact, or reason." Democracy is a government where the "supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held elections." I understand the literal context of these words but I don't believe I can truly comprehend the aforementioned concepts without truly experiencing them.

Freedom, in my eyes, is being able to do what I want without harming anybody, and just not being tied to anything. Unfortunately, I don't believe it really exists because I'm always going to be shackled to something, for example, society's demand of me to be productive. As well, I'm always going to have responsibilities like going to school if I don't want to, working a job to pay bills and rent, and civic duties like jury duty. Also, I'm not truly free when I'm tied or reliant on my parents, spouse, and friends. Furthermore, America's definition of freedom seems to be citizens can do what they want as long as their actions are within the law. I understand the need for regulations but there's a pressure of being caged and bound by rules, which is not what freedom entails. I arrived at my definition of freedom by that in school, I was taught America is the land of the free, and I can do whatever I want, as long as it wasn't illegal. However, sometimes what I want to do, I can't because of responsibilities and authority figures saying no. Therefore, when I can't do what I truly want, that is not freedom.

I believe justice is getting to the truth of things, and everybody has the right to equal treatment. Unfortunately, I don't believe I truly understand this term because it's idealistic and a concept that exists in a state of utopia. For example, in the courtroom, justice is not necessarily served because all someone really needs is a good lawyer or a deal with the opposing counsel to defeat the charges. Justice also means free of discrimination, which is impossible because people are always going to have judgments of other people, whether it's race, gender, or religion. Also, what's equal and fair in someone's eyes can be different from mine. I arrived at the definition by having parents and teachers tell me if I didn't do something, I would be punished. For example, if I didn't do my homework, my teachers would tell my parents or get a zero for the day. However, to me, that was not fair because sometimes it wasn't intentional so why should I be punished for something that I did not purposely mean to do; there was no ill intent, just forgetfulness.