Showing results for "For Freedoms" in Civics & Citizenship

There are hundreds of ways to lead a more environmentally friendly, socially conscious, and liberally minded life - ways that can even be enjoyable. Justin Krebs explains that being liberal, or progressive, isn’t only a political act - it’s a lifestyle that’s suited to our changing America.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, free speech and press freedom face unprecedented threats from campus censorship, social media content moderation, and government pressure campaigns. From college students afraid to voice opinions in class to journalists facing investigations, the First Amendment foundations of American democracy are under multiple threats in ways the Founders never imagined.

The United States - the world's great bastion of freedom - is sliding toward socialism. High-profile bailouts and a stimulus bill have toppled the walls between government and private sectors. Federal control now extends in various ways to education, health care, financial markets, real estate, businesses, and religion. And as out-of-control government spending and debt increase, America is drained of the economic and political strength its people fought for and worked so hard to achieve.

Something basic is missing in our culture. Americans know it. Nothing much works as it should. Simple daily choices seem impossible, or fraught with peril. In the workplace, we walk on eggshells. Big projects get stalled in years of review. Endemic social problems such as homelessness become, well, more endemic. Everyday Freedom offers a radical reinterpretation of the corrosion of American culture.

For over a decade, human rights journalist Agus Morales has journeyed to the sites of the world's most brutal conflicts and spoken to the victims of violence and displacement. To Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Central African Republic. To Central America, the Congo, and the refugee camps of Jordan. To the Tibetan Parliament in exile in northern India. We are living in a time of massive global change, when negative images of refugees undermine the truth of their humiliation and suffering.

As a young woman, Democratic congresswoman Carolyn Maloney asked her grandmother for career advice. She was shocked by the reply: "Get married." Though much has changed for women since then, more has remained the same. On a January night in 2008, Maloney and her daughter attended a Hillary Clinton rally in New Hampshire. Men in the audience held "Iron My Shirt" posters aloft. This small incident provoked outrage, but it provided an important peephole onto larger problems that women face today.