H. L. Mencken's The Average Man Does Not Want To Be Free

Adolescent risk-taking is often increased due to the potential reward value of a risky situation. In this presentation, I will prove that negative risks that adolescent males take are recurrently caused by multiple instances, such as: the chance of a possible reward, peer pressure and psychological trauma. These risks are commonly found in adolescents, and are prevalent in the text “Folk Hero” by H. M. Tolcher.

“To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” This quote means a lot if you really think about it. This quote has meaning beyond meaning. It puts mankind in their place. It separates “We” from “I”. You’ll never know yourself until you be yourself.

People are drawn to others with confidence, people who are confident enough in themselves to do what makes them happy, not what society expects of them. Chris McCandless was no exception to this. This is why people like Jan Burres, a drifter; Ronald Franz, an eighty year-old widower; and Wayne Westerberg, the owner of a mill, were greatly impacted by Chris. Each of these people are merely a few of the many who were impacted by his unique outlook on life and risky behavior. Most of those who has met the young man were intrigued by him, wanting to know more about his philosophies and his drive that had gotten him so far. Chris’ determined and risk-seeking attitude left a strong and positive impact on most of those who had crossed his path. Of

A lot of people "'understand what it is to strive for something... to want to be someone you're not, to want to achieve something that's just beyond reach, whether it's professional success or wealth or idealized love - or a 4.0 or admission to [UNLV]'" (Rimer 1). Wanting to achieve something can sometimes lead to the extremes. In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby made some wrong turns in order to achieve his dreams and wealth, but still wasn't enough to be where he wanted to be. Having a green light or main goal in life may decide if someone goes in the wrong direction and ends up in the wrong place. My green light is going to UNLV and becoming a teacher, has definitely been affected by my family and my background; just like Gatsby, involving others in my progress, except not doing immoral or illegal things.

Today, life can be unfair for those people who seek to be free from people who have big power over them. According to Naomi Wolf the author of “Freedom is Intended as a Challenge,” people can get the freedom they want, if they will learn how to extend happiness. In her article she takes Thomas Jefferson declaration and identifies three main points that make many people believe that freedom is

H.L Mencken states that the average man will choose to be safe rather than being free. His opinion is relevant to society since many people choose to follow the norm and take the safest path to ensure their future. However, depending on their situation, people will choose either their safety or their freedom to fit their needs and wants.

My favorite book from this semester has to be the Grand Inquisitor by Fyoder Dostoevsky. First off, what compelled me to pick this book was the originality of the content by having the Grand Inquisitor appear to conversate with Jesus Christ. However, more specifcally, I appreciated the main themes like the ideas that the masses are innately naïve, a majority of people would rather be told what to do rather than to follow their own logic, and people are satisfied as long as they are comfortable.

Sometimes we can 't always control the bad things that happen to us. We can’t control the weather, our parents, and we can 't control past mistakes we have made. The way we let these things affect us can change our lives completely. It 's a matter of if we decide if we want them to affect us or not. In the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” it tells us that you decide whether you want your paradigm to be proactive or reactive. We can 't always control what happens to us...but we can control how we react to what happens to us.

To most people the word “freedom” has a positive connotation. People view it as something that everyone desires. However, Theodore Dalrymple claims that most people would choose to have security over liberty, analyzing prisoners that he sees as examples of this. Looking at the quotations he analyzes like “they experience themselves as putty in the hands of fate,” one can reach the conclusion that they feel like they have no control over their lives, making their actions no fault of their own. Dalrymple uses prisoners’ quotes as examples to back up his premises that he believes many people would exchange their liberty for security. While on the outside this may seem logical, desiring security over freedom would in fact mean giving up control, which contradicts Dalrymple’s examples of what the prisoners say they want. Using this language detail of security over liberty to contradict his examples reveals his underlying point: that people still desire their liberty, but don’t want to take

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a risk taker. Where others seek to find the way out of things I seek to find the thrill and adventure in them. For instance, freshman year of high school I decided to join the football team. I played the whole year as a defensive tackle, but as freshman year drew to an end, I would soon be debating whether or not to continue on with football my sophomore year. It was not until that summer that I began evaluating what else I could do instead football. This is when I found a club called DECA.

Through the years there has been a great variety of people who desire to have or get more. Oftentimes, it is learned and realized that more a person gets is based on what that person is willing to give up. Making a sacrifice can be tough at times, but that is the choice many people make in order to advance in the world. With the ongoing changes in society the demand to stay ahead can become overwhelming.

In December 2010 I went to Colombia- my native country- for a vacation. I was 21 years old, and I was living a reckless life. I was staying at my cousin’s Freddy’s house with his wife Mary and son Christian. On Christmas Eve, the family got together and at midnight we all started opening gifts. I believe it was 12:30am when I walked out of the house and continued partying for three long days. On December 28th, everything turned into a nightmare for me, when I made the worst decision, a decision that a “normal” person probably wouldn’t have made.

After today's reading of NeuroTribes, by Steve Silberman, I learned that many people on the spectrum of Asperger's Syndrome are obssessed with science fiction. The communities of other fans are supportive and help these people feel welcomed. It's a community where they all share similar interests, so it gives people with Asperger's a sense of ownership. Many people decide to turn their interests into lifelong careers such as Tommy: "Tommy the Space Child was not the only member of Asperger’s forgotten tribe to turn his youthful obsession with science fiction into a career in science." [140]

Freedom is a relative term, you are only as free as you feel, therefore be happy with your lot in life. An unhappy person might look at a situation and say, “I feel enslaved,” and a happy person looks at the same situation and says, “I feel free!” For that reason I believe that freedom is my own choice, I choose each day whether I am free or a slave to the dark and dismal life many insist on pushing through. Freedom helps me understand myself and helps me live

Following your heart and taking risk at times when society may convince otherwise can lead to unexpected achievements. Steve Jobs is a perfect example of someone who received success from the uniqueness novelty of his ideas despite being called a lunatic in the beginning and event now. This quote although is inspirational is not practical and is only true in exceptional circumstances. It is idealistic to follow your dreams and pursue the career path that you want for an example whereas someone may want to be an artist it is not practical – there is a reason for the term “starving artist”. Only the best can even attempt to go to art school and in the end there is not guarantee the public and critics will appreciate the