"Freedom" is overblown in American discourse. Americans can't even agree on stuff like "freedom to require people coming into my store to wear a mask during a pandemic" versus "freedom to go about my business without restrictions," so it's often just spin, even without getting into the real fun ones like abortion, birth control, guns...

This is because the word has been redefined in the US. As outsiders we struggle to understand american brand freedom because its a weird concept centred on "my rights" where in most of the rest of the world includes responsibilities.

The US is screwed until they fix their discourse.

Believe me, a decent chunk of Americans don’t even understand the concept of freedom.

We have an expression, “it’s a free country”. But if you go to Mexico, the pharmacy will just sell you anything short of controlled substances—antibiotics, heart medication, whatever. In the US you need a prescription from a doctor. We’re not a free country by a long shot.

One can believe in freedom and also believe that the federal government has grown too big and often infringes on those freedoms.

> Believe me, a decent chunk of Americans don’t even understand the concept of freedom.

The government overreaching doesn't mean people don't understand the concept of freedom, just that the establishment has grown too influential.

I don’t know how you could believe in freedom and not have that opinion about the US federal government. But I’m not sure why you brought that up in this context.