With the coming and going of the Fourth of July, one thing I’ve been thinking about is freedom. As a twenty-year-old American woman, I’ve had it pretty cushy. More than that, everything I know about freedom has been shaped by every social studies class I've taken in every grade since elementary school. That and bumper stickers. I recently saw the phrase “Freedom Isn’t Free” slapped onto the back of a fourteen person SUV — right in between one equating being pro-choice to being pro-death, and one quoting a bible verse about the sanctity of marriage. This five-by-eight philosophy raised some questions. Basically, what I really want to know is — what does anyone really know?

The recent unrest in the Middle East and Africa gives us a glimpse into hell. Accounts of governments firing on their own citizens have been appalling, but the violence goes deeper. A June 16 CNN article claims that soldiers loyal to the Gaddafi regime have been torturing prisoners, and there’s cell phone video to prove it. One allegedly depicts soldiers sodomizing a Libyan woman with a broomstick. Libyan rebels claim that they have a number of phones in their possession with similar recordings.

Then there’s the plight of Iman al-Obeidi, a lawyer who was detained before being gang-raped for two days by members of Gaddafi’s militia. After escaping, al-Obeidi attempted to talk to foreign journalists in a Tripoli hotel, only to be dragged away by hotel staff and government personnel. According to a March 27 Washington Post article, in a phone call to al-Obeidi’s mother, Libyan government officials told her that if her daughter reneged on all her claims, they would provide her with “anything she wanted.” Al-Obeidi told her mother, “I will die rather than change my words.”

Though there are more stories arising from this conflict, these are the two that get to me the most. The Libyan people are collectively paying a high price in both happinness and dignity — while most in the U.S. only have to deal with the high price of gas.

As a student at the University of Michigan, I’ve had it pretty easy. Students have several great forums in which to publicize pet issues. The recent smoking ban is more of an exercise in futility than a limit on personal freedom — any official of a learning institution ought to know that we’ve all been taught to resist “peer pressure.” There’s some kind of organization to cater to almost any student’s interests or background — whatever issue gets your goat, you’re free to grandstand in the Diag. Though tuition isn’t free, every day we have the opportunity to make the choices indicative of our true selves — from the clothes we wear to the opinions we hold. Back in February, I was annoyed at a Facebook event page for an “Egypt Liberation” themed rave. In May, I was uncomfortable that students partied in front of the White House when Bin Laden was shot. Last week, I was angered by a new blog devoted to this current age of revolution, cutely named Revolt Riot, which sells clothing.

Getting to the point here, my personal philosophy for situations involving school, work, family and even romantic relationships is that if it isn't challenging, it isn't be worth pursuing. Anything of value is going to be difficult — the worth of anything is measured by how much bullshit you’re willing to endure, or in how many quarts of the proverbial blood, sweat and tears you can afford to lose. The triumph of climbing a mountain lies in its size — the payoff of the trek is the view from the peak. My thoughts move here from mountains to clubs, White House merrymaking and tasteless t-shirts. I’m not sure how entitled I am to make any sort of judgment here. I could easily exercise my uncultivated, unearned freedom in the same ways — I’m just as free as any other American to attend a rave, celebrate the death of a terrorist or buy a “Keep Calm and Riot On” wristband. I am a young woman living in the freest nation in the world, attending one of the most accommodating schools in the country, and yet I have not struggled for any of it. Al-Obeidi would rather die than change her words — to me, “changing my words” means editing this column. Freedom is not free, so the stickers say, and I know it is worth something, a big something. But what do I really know if I haven't struggled for it?

Vanessa can be reached at vanrych@umich.edu.