Things I don't understand: Consider freedom, a word that is a rallying cry for all kinds of actions that might suppress rather than engender freedom. What is freedom? How is it defined? If it means what you think it does, would freedom ever need a modifier like relative or absolute? Does the word mean the same thing to everyone? Robert Frost said "You have freedom when you're easy in your harness." My interpretation of what Frost means is that if the constraints of society and the limitations imposed on you by your body, beliefs, abilities, etc., do not rest too heavily on you, then you feel free. Can we demand freedom for ourselves and yet deny it to our fellows? The hand you feel lightly on your shoulder may be an intolerable burden crushing your brother or sister. If you think there is an easy answer, then you're reading the wrong post. Defining words is not always easy. If a definition is intended to inform someone, then that definition must ...