While the world was living under absolute rulers and monarchs, America was the first to be a republic, one that would serve as an inspiration to the French and many others after the revolution, to fight for their freedom from oppression. Americans speak a lot about freedom; who has it, and who does not. It seems to be the topic of all conversations because it has come to represent the spirit of our people. As a society, we have to come to view freedom as the single most dominant force, from politics to economics, with regards to the individual, as well as the collective population. Freedom defines every American; we all want the right to pursue our own career, our own path in life, and to vote for whom ever we want to. The United States has spread our culture of freedom around the world and used it to defeat the darkness that was rooted in Soviet style communism.