I Am Free!

    America, for as long as I can remember has always been a place of freedom. Growing up as a child in Nigeria, Africa I remember all the talk that went around about everyone trying to come to America. There was always this reverence about how perfect it would be because of all the opportunities that the land afforded. According to the chatter, there was  a freedom to join what ever religion you wanted to, a freedom to go and do what ever you wanted too, and most importantly there was a freedom to excel to any level of success with hard work. Being a child I was so excited at the thought of such freedoms and now that I am adult in America, I now sincerely understand the in depth importance of these affordances.
    When I first came to this country in the early 2000s I never even fathomed  the idea of homosexuality. Where I am from people are stoned and burned alive naked or jailed for practicing homosexual acts publicly. By the time I got to high school I saw it every where. Guys dating guys and girls making out with each other publicly. And by the time I got to high school I saw it as normal for people and children in America to express themselves freely. Although all this freedom was slithering around everywhere, I noticed that people in charge such as principles teachers and even students were not exactly supportive of such behaviors. There were certain actions depicted, like treating them with a different demeanor than other students that were straight.
    In addition to school environments, there is also the work place. Naturally public display of affection isn’t professional at all, but making out with your husband as woman would probably sit better than a man making out with his husband/partner as a man. According to one of the professors in my class, one of her friends who conducts research at a university was asked to sign a contract prior to being hired. This contract stated that, if those in charge felt as though she was exhibiting any actions that exuded homosexuality, she could be fired. So the termination would be based on any scale those in charge see as fit for the grounds to terminate, no matter how small accusation.
    Okay, now I get it. So America was not as free as I thought. I am beginning to understand that this freedom that was always reverenced is based on a certain stipulation. It is as though you only get the entirety of this freedom if you do no step on anyone’s toes. Why wasn’t all of the employees at the school required to sign such a document? Why is it that high school kids that express themselves publicly based on their sexual orientation, has to be looked at differently? This really protrudes the question how free is America? Is it only great when people are adhering to the unspoken ethical guidelines of life, such as not being gay. We should be very aware of the surroundings which we consider to be endlessly free.