What does "freedom" mean to people living in the United States? Are there freedoms that have been unique to the American experience or essential to defining it? Why is there so much disagreement about the word's meaning and its history?

If these questions interest you, I hope that you'll consider participating in the making of American Freedoms, a documentary that will sample from conversations on these topics with hundreds of people nationwide. How has life in the United States helped individuals and communities enjoy political, legal, cultural, economic, intellectual, or personal freedoms? Do Americans sometimes take basic freedoms for granted or claim those that are undeserved? Why is there little agreement about the term's meaning, or about what it takes to secure fundamental rights and privileges? Why are basic freedoms in the U.S. so often lost or denied?

Of course these questions have been debated since the nation's founding; people who have called the U.S. home can claim very different experiences and so their expectations, understandably, have ranged widely. Still a broadly-shared belief in the nation's commitment to "freedom" has always loomed large and remains influential, for good reason. By sampling and juxtaposing the stories and sentiments that have informed this commitment, American Freedoms explores a concept that has always been elusive, contested, and consequential.

The stories in American Freedoms will be told, literally, by the hundreds of individuals who agree to be interviewed. Their voices will narrate; no "experts" (or filmmaker) will chime in to offer commentary. And because so many people are involved, no one will get extensive screen time. The film won't "profile" speakers or focus on any one person's views or experiences, and it won't pass judgement or take a position on how to navigate freedom's many meanings and histories. The end result will be a patchwork of conversations about experiences, impressions, and convictions, some that will be familiar to viewers and others that will no doubt surprise or perhaps confuse. The film invites us to put competing understandings of American freedoms—freedoms imagined, aspired to, and realized—in conversation with our own.

What are "American freedoms"? To join the conversation . . .

To add an image to the collection below, submit it at this link:

American Freedoms A Documentary