How free are you? A Poll
Instructions: If the answer to the question is 'yes', give yourself 1 point. If the answer is 'no', take 1 point away. If the answer is 'maybe', or 'I don't know', or 'unsure', don't add any points.
Can you wear whatever you want, without having to explain yourself or worry about getting berated for it?
Can you choose what to do with your own time, without having anyone criticize or guilt you for it?
Can you choose what you eat every day, or at least reject the food you don't want to eat?
Do you have access to food that is nourishing, healthy and unlikely to cause any health issues in the long term?
Can you choose freely who you spend your time with, without reprecussions?
Can you choose what you do for a job? Can you change it without severe consequences for your financial stability?
Are you allowed to go wherever you please, if your finances allow for it?
Do you have a community of people you're connected to, who have the same or similar beliefs and circumstances as you do?
Do you have a network (or a family) of people who you consider to be 'your people', who accept you and care about you?
Will you be okay and taken care of in case of illness, injury, incident or a disaster?
Can you choose your own religion, or reject a religion, without severe social consequences?
Do you have knowledge of your basic human rights, and are you informed on what to do if some of these rights get violated?
Can you go about life without ever worrying about physical violence occuring from a person you know and are around?
Can you go about life without worrying about physical violence coming from a stranger?
Can you walk the planet without being self-conscious of your body and how you're perceived, and being objectified or devalued because of it?
Do you feel safe and comfortable in most of the places you exist in?
Can you get by without taking special measures, such as hiding, lying, escaping, locking yourself in, avoiding certain places and activities, avoiding certain people, changing your name, in order to be safe in the world?
Do you have safe access to communication with people you want to communicate with?
Can you access the money you need without having to ask or explain why you need it?
Do you feel safe that your basic physical needs, such as food, clothing, sanitary items, tools, shelter and utilities are and will stay accessible to you?
Do you have secure access to healthcare, without having to severely worry about the financial aspect of it, or about someone barring you from access?
Do you have reliable information about your own health, and about how the activities you do might affect it, both for better and for worse?
Are you allowed to change your mind about how you feel about the issues in the world, your own circumstances, people around you, your faith and your politics, without being outcasted from your group of peers?
Can you go trough life without worrying about a hate crime being committed against you, both by people you know and strangers?
Is your health and physical state of body stable enough to work a full time job?
Can you secure enough money to live comfortably, without your physical or psychological health suffering and deteriorating for it?
Can you comfortably communicate your needs, feelings, problems, struggles and affection to others, when you want to?
Can you speak your mind most of the time, without worrying about reprecussions?
Can you be open about your interests, hobbies, beliefs, sexuality, identity, politics and relationships with most of the people around you?
Can you comfortably speak about the circumstances and facts of your life, without being corrected or denied to name some of them?
Can you recognize when a choice has been taken away from you, and things have been decided for you? If yes, can you also walk away from this, and refuse to take on the consequences?
Can you comfortably place blame on the people who have caused you distress and pain in your life, without any pushback or criticism for doing so?
Do you have support, knowledge and resources you need in order to deal with grief and tragedy?
Can you feel comfortable and at ease around all people you are around with?
Can you freely confront a person in your life who has attempted to cause injustice to you, even if that person is in position of authority to you? Do you feel safe and able to do so?
Can you freely choose your sexual partner(s), or refuse any you don't want without having to worry about their feelings, assault, your financial situation or your safety?
Can you choose freely to undo any consequences sex had on your body, if you don't want it to be happening to you? (abortion rights, skip if it doesn't apply to you)
Can you break up your relationships, parental bonds and marriages to other people without having to worry about survial, physical safety or keeping a roof over your head?
Do you have information and resources to immediately recognize red flags of being lured into a scam, exploitative work, grooming, abuse, sexual abuse, cults, human trafficking, or similar situations?
Can you live without being severely affected by human made-disasters, such as wars, chemical damage to the environment, mass destruction and shootings?
Ideally, in a functional society, a human being should have all of these freedoms. I understand for most, if not all of us, to have every single of these points is impossible. If you are in the negative points, your situation is dire and freedom has been stripped from you to the inhumane level. For reference, the score I got for this was 9! 39 or 40 would be the ideal, which I don't believe anyone will get.
If your answer is 'no', for questions about having access to information, having knowledge and resources, this isn't your fault. You are not solely responsible for figuring out every single aspect of it yourself, this should have been covered in your education and upbringing. Also, if you're underage, questions like being able to work a job, securing money and choosing sexual partners do not apply to you, you should instead be protected from having to worry about any of that until you reach the adulthood or age of consent. If you are having to worry about any of that, the answer is automatically no. If you have no worries about that, you can give yourself a point for each of these.
Disclaimer: This poll was made by one person, using personal ideas about freedom in this world, I am sure I forgot to include many things, please do add in the comments other perils to freedom that are not mentioned here. It is not a definitive statement on human freedom, only a reference point and a source of information.