Freedom has changed in many ways and taken many forms throughout history. The emphasis shifted from religion to equality, national sovereignty and personal freedom. The reasons to fight for freedom are still changing today and it will always be a problem because people feel they don't have enough while the government feels they have too much. It is very difficult to find the right balance between the two. The limits of freedom are also constantly changing and freedom also comes with certain social conditions. When certain social conditions are not met, certain rights that people enjoy can easily be taken away. This balance shifts in many ways on major issues, including gaining religious independence, gaining the right to self-government, freedom of equality for different races and genders, and several wars fought for freedom of people of other countries. Since day one, Americans have been willing to lay down their lives to protect our freedom. The desire to be free has always existed and always will. One of the first forms freedom took was to allow people to practice the religion of their choice, and freedom has evolved from a very narrow view to a very broad view throughout history. In an effort to achieve religious freedom, the colonists came to America with a desire for more opportunity and not just religious freedom. Once they arrived, they found the political situation much more difficult as they were expected to follow all the rules of the English Parliament and they all had their own religious beliefs and ideals about how the government would be run. This debate over American sovereignty is at the origin of the outbreak of the American Revolution. Freedom from having the Tea and Stamp Acts and having a say in the middle of paper......it's a beautiful arrangement for all groups, regardless of the many previous oppressions imposed on people. For law abiding people over the age of eighteen, they have the right to vote for whoever they want for office, you have the right to run for office, and to own and keep your guns in your home. Some rights will always be challenged by some people who try to push the boundaries and, if pushed far enough, some of those rights may become more restricted and/or it may be more difficult to obtain certain items. An example would be public shootings because people exercise their right to use the weapon but they take the lives of others and for this reason certain things become more difficult to obtain. A good example is gun ammunition and the ability to purchase and own a gun. The process for some things becomes longer to protect the rights of others.