This week we get down to the bottom of freedom and what exactly it means? How do you define freedom? Are you ever truly free? What things do we do as a society that restrict our freedom for the safety of the group? Find out all these answers and more at earwolf.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ztwuiqz4So
Guys and Gal,
I did not like this episode. I am Tig’s age and was born and raised in Santiago, Chile. In 1973 the military shot up the presidential palace (La Moneda) and killed the President, Salvador Allende. We endured 17 years of dictatorship with thousands of people being tortured, disappeared, and also killed. I want you to know that growing up in that context, the oppression permeates every aspect of your life, it gets inside your head and makes you live in fear and in a constant state of “fight or flight”, always expecting something terrible will happen to you or your loved ones.
When I moved to the US in 1995 I could not believe the freedoms people had. Something as simple as walking down the street without your i.d. in your wallet, you really don’t appreciate it what it means. After the World Trade Center attacks things changed very much, but mostly for people traveling, not for Joe Schmoe eating a burger at McDonald’s.
Sorry, I realize I am ranting, but I love you all so much and I was just disappointed.
@Huntsberger,
Those scars in left deltoids of people over 40 are for polio vaccines, not severe needles.
As a veteran, I can tell you the rights of those in the military are often restricted. One of the first things they tell you in basic training is you don’t have first amendment rights (hence Bradley Manning, who is nonetheless ultimately a political prisoner). The military may be a symbol (an empty one) of freedom, but the lives of those serving are far from free.
Actually those scars on the upper part of the arm are from the small pox vaccination and not used with needles: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/smallpox/vaccination/facts.asp
All y’all,
I can’t thank you enough for putting together an excellent podcast. The blend of thoughtful discussion and humor is spot on. Incidentally, my now 13 yr. old son and I have had our own version of “Punky” going on for at least two years now. One of us will be in one area of the house and let out a highly-affected (sometimes to the point of nearly choking) “Ohhhh, Punky!” and the other will respond in attempt to out-do it. I shared Kyle’s “Punky”‘s with him and enjoyed a good, double-over laugh w/my teenaged son.
Hmm. . . Professor Blastoff – bridging the sometimes troublesome gap between parents and their teenaged children. . .
Best to each of you,
Wendy in Vermont (we’d LOVE to have you here for a show)