A recent social media post from a Canadian who laments the privatization of health care in the US concludes, “Americans do not understand the meaning of freedom.”

Do Americans agree on anything? Probably not, not even something as fundamental as freedom. To one person, freedom is getting the health care you need to live a long and healthy life. To another, freedom is deciding where you spend your money and how you get your health care without government interference.

Each of us is an individual with our own beliefs. It might be more accurate for her to say, “Some Americans do not agree with me on the meaning of freedom.”

How do you know the words you use mean the same thing to others as they do to you?