American Essayist And Social Critic H. L Mencken

Benjamin Franklin wrote, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

For some residents, the reluctance to give up freedoms is a reflection of their belief that terrorists will succeed no matter what. However, according to a poll run by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, ⅔ of Americans say it’s appropriate to sacrifice some privacy and freedom in the fight against terrorism. People worry that giving up one freedom will lead to the loss of others. They believe that the one time someone does not get scanned at an airport or does not get their luggage checked it will be detrimental to society. With 9/11 still at the back of everyone’s minds, people do not want to risk our national

Given recent terrorist attacks, those who wish to destroy liberty are once again using these serious crisis as a pretext to impose even more control over our lives. They would like us to trade some more of our freedom for the promise of ‘a little temporary Safety’ as Benjamin Franklin termed it.

Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once said “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” In America’s society today, some are willing to sacrifice their civil liberties in order to gain protection and security over some potential threat. Especially after the events of September 11th and several attempted bombings in U.S. cities. This sacrifice of individual freedoms such as the freedom of speech, expression, the right to information, to new technologies, and so forth, for additional protection is more of a loss than a gain. Citizens of the United States deserve equal liberty and safety overall, as someone should not have to give up

Safety and freedom come hand in hand. With safety, one cannot be free, but with freedom, one is not always safe. History and current events have proven that the average man would rather stand up and fight injustices to progress society, rather than be safe in a confined lifestyle. The only way to make change, is to take risks that may be dangerous, but in the end, reforms will give future generations the blessing of living in a fair and just

Mencken stated, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe”. Wars, terrorism, and persecution surface a desire for safety. It is a universal desire. Humans are not willing to give up freedom to be safe.

As said by H. L. Mencken, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.”. This is seen in the workplace, the schoolyard, and life in general: people tend to choose safety over their right to be free. Our constant desire to be protected isn’t only accurate about Americans, it is prominent throughout the cultures of all nations. Society has the right to have their own Individuality, and they give it up to be secure.

Security can be defined as the “freedom from danger, risk, etc. with the absence of threats to assimilated principles” or a “low chance of damage to assimilated principles.” However, the word security originates from the Latin Securus, which means “carefree”. Notice that the very definition of the word clues to the term “freedom”. The aforementioned definition of security is very general. It does not stipulate the individual whose security is at issue or the types of values pliable to being secured. The security of people (“human security”) is understood to extend beyond national security, also comprising of economic welfare, the health of the environment, cultural identity, and political rights. Security began to take on a diverse set of restrictions with the Alien and Sedition Acts of the 1790s. We would see a drastic change after September 11, 2011.

Freedom has a large range of meaning. The encyclopedia Britannica defines freedom as “the quality or state of being free, and the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action” (Britannica). In the American society there is a lot of emphasis on freedom, and the right to be free, but one must question to what extent we are truly “free”.

Give Me Freedom Eduardo L. Gaspar 2/28/17 English 12 6th period Give Me Freedom Our measurement of safety is often over-exaggerated and never guaranteed to protect everyone. Security causes many cases of social injustice and question marks, such as letting the suspect go without any type of punishment or pointing the barrel to innocent. With freedom, we have the right to reject of what we so call our enemies and let people speak for themselves; not congress, nor judges, but the power of people’s voices. Security drives fear in us, desperately falling for protection, mindlessly making agreements to isolate from harm, but in reality, it’s just a trick to limit ourselves from our god given freedom. Oh, Mr. President! The most superior man in the

H.L Mencken wrote “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” (2013) However, this very statement seems to contradict most of what’s happened throughout history. The Founding Fathers created this nation to rid of us of an immense amount of regulations. Now, instead of regulations, we are faced with something even the Founding Fathers didn’t prepare us for, technology. Technology is making ways to invade our freedoms, yet still supply us with security, while going through the Constitutions loopholes. Yes, people want the safety and security it could provide, but everyone desires freedom. Both are important, however freedom is what most live for, it creates excitement and for that reason freedom is craved.

As a young child, I always wanted to be bigger, older and wiser. I dreamed of being in high school, or being a perfect well dressed secretary working in an office. Yet they say time flies when you’re having fun, but it seems now that I yearn for those times again, those boundaries and limitations. Freedom is daunting; the world is big and dangerous and I often find myself wishing I was young again. For me, the liberty I do have only brings more questions and confusion into my life. The world doesn’t seem too exciting. As I am now so used to the idea of being ‘free’, in the sense of being able to choose what road I choose, when given boundaries sometimes i react by

“The idea of freedom gives more security” I see this in my life as I prepare to go into high school and pick my high school endorsement. When my fellow classmates and I get into high school we get the freedom to pick our endorsements. The endorsements we choose are going to set us on a certain pathway for the rest of high school. I like how we get the freedom to choose our endorsement and the security given with it on how the rest of high school life is going to be.

From the federalism debates of our country’s infancy to more modern political issues, the question of whether safety or freedom is more important is inescapable. While there are many different opinions on this issue, most can be explained by a basic human habit: we seek what we don’t have, and often at the expense of what we feel we do have. Therefore, if a person already sees himself as safe, he will be willing to lose some security to policies or choices that protect his freedom, while a person with freedom will strive for more safety. This is because humans instinctively wish to improve themselves by attaining benefits that they lack, and they often disregard any negative effects that these might bring.

Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” Freedom is unexplainably valuable. The only way to truly understand freedom and the obtainment of it is to understand the roles of those involved. Namely, the freedom complex is made up within the role of the dictator, the role of the individual, and the role of society.