Sacrificing Freedom for Safety: A Global Insight

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The American essayist and social critic H. L. Mencken wrote, "The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe." Despite being from a different era, Mencken's words still hold some intrinsic truth. As evident through the rise of the European Union, the passage of the Patriot Act, and the war on the Second Amendment, people are increasingly supporting ideologies that aim to provide safety regardless of the corresponding restrictions on personal freedoms. For centuries Europe was entangled in wars. Countless deaths, divisions, hardships and losses plagued the history and culture of European life. After World War II many people finally became sick and tired of endless fighting and aggression. They no longer wished

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