Gerry Spence: Easy In The Harness

A detailed Summary of Gerry Spence: Easy In The Harness

Gerry Spence's essay, "Easy in the Harness: The Tyranny of Freedom" is an argument. He is arguing a point about freedom and trying to convince you to think like he does. His argument is simply what we perceive as freedom isn't what freedom really is. The structure of this essay is based on claims of fact. Throughout the whole essay, Spence is telling you a story of himself and what we saw as he went through life, especially what he found out about freedom. His claim of fact in this essay is that, "We are not free. Nor have we ever been. Perfect freedom demands a perfect vision of reality, one too painful for the healthy to endure." Gerry Spence states that freedom takes more than just the thought of freedom. It requires that we be "...alive, alert, and exquisitely aware of our raw being." Spence believes that, "Pure freedom is pure terror."

Spence supports his claim in a few ways. Simply he shows our life and the exchange we make for it. For example, "In exchange for acceptance by our friends we give up the right to say what we think. Being socially proper is more important than possessing a fresh, uncompromised soul. Being acceptable to our neighbors is often more important than being acceptable to ourselves. Fo

Arguments based on claims of fact are the most persuasive in my opinion. The argument that Spence uses and his structure of support seems to appeal to me based on his logic. I feel that I am free, but when I analyze my freedom, the freedom that I thought I possess isn't really there. For example, in one of Spence's examples, he uses the membership of a community and the loss of freedom associated with it. I may think that I am free, but I can't go out to get my mail in my neighborhood in my nakedness. There are laws permitting against it and together as a community, we must obey those laws. Our memberships into these communities are always paid in freedom.

We are easy in the harness. "We all wear our harnesses, and if we are easy in them, if we feel free, is not the illusion of freedom as satisfactory as freedom itself?" Though Spence may try to explain that we are not free, isn't feeling free just as good? We as Americans experience some sort of freedom. "Not to be afraid of our government is blessed. Not to be lied to, not to be cheated, not to be exploited and poisoned and hurt for corporate greed, not to be used up like old rags; to be heard, to be respected, to grow and to discover our uniqueness-these are the freedoms we most cherish, freedoms we, by reason of our occupancy of this earth, are entitled to enjoy."

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Approximate Word count = 917
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics