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Want To Be Free, By H. L. Mencken

819 Words4 Pages

The phrase, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe”, by H.L. Mencken, an American essayist and social critic, is an accurate and agreeable statement. What Mencken is trying to say here is that people in this society don’t really look for freedom to do whatever they want, instead they look for the feeling of safety because without safety you can’t live life to the fullest. What is freedom if you don’t feel safe? Mencken’s quote emphasizes the true meaning of safety and gets you thinking about what it would be life if we didn’t have that. Many would give up their rights in order to be safe and protected in times of fear which is why Mencken’s statement is accurate with this society. There has been many occasions and attacks that has led people to be willing to give up their rights in exchange for safety. In this society, there are many things that can happen that people fear which is why they choose to be safe so that they don’t have to live in constant fear. Many would give up their rights in times of fear for safety. For example, on September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack occurred at the twin towers and at that moment, everyone would have given up all of their rights just to be safe and have the protection needed for survival. Even now, that event still affects our freedom because in an airport you will always get checked before you go in so that something like that never happens again; that is giving up our freedom for safety. Everyone

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