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. For nearly two hundred years slavery thrived in America over the silent protestations of decent citizens enslaved themselves by the tyranny of convention. The price of freedom is often rejection, even banishment." In other words, we give up our freedom in exchange for comfort. Slavery was an issue that everybody knew was morally wrong. Instead of abolishing slavery like decent citizens would do, they were trapped into having slaves themselves.
             Another way Spence supports his claim is by telling a couple of stories. The first story is about old Star and Spiffy. These were two horses that he had worked with mowing the meadow at a ranch. He kn...