He Simply Wants To Be Free By H. L. Mencken

American essayist and social critic H.L. Mencken(1880-1956) wrote, “ The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” This saying is in many ways true and shows in human behavior not only throughout history, but in modern day as well. In my opinion, humans display wanting either freedom or safety on several occasions, but in reality want aspects of both within their lives.

In modern day, some people are against decisions involving change in society, which shows that humans want to remain safe within their own bubble, than face the differences that come with freedom. At first, when people appeared and talked about different sexualities and identities besides homosexuality, these people were rejected and outcasted from
Rather than adapting to a healthier lifestyle, such as veganism, many people decide to remain unhealthy and continue to eat fast food, junk food, and don’t exercise. One of the many excuses used to retain an unhealthy lifestyle is that it is more cheaper and convenient to have what is at hand and give into one’s cravings, which demonstrates humans decision to maintain the freedom to enjoy what society provides as convenient pre-made food, even though it is not healthy and has led to various health issues. Meat(beef, red meat, poultry, and fish) is one of the main causes of diseases, specifically cancer, and has been identified as a carcinogenic; being compared to be as bad as smoking cigarettes. Diabetes has also been linked to the typical american-meat-eating diet and not from the sugary foods one eats, but essentially the animal products within them. The buildup of fat within the blood is what causes insulin resistance which essentially leads to diabetes. The animal products society has advertised to be healthy, aren’t and even though we live in a society in which there are vegan options for everything, people turn a blind eye to these facts and decide to continue eating an animal based
Within recent years, major strides have been made in terms of the LGBTQ community and American societies. The hate faced by the LGBTQ had a negative effect on people both in and out of this community, especially the closeted teens and adults who felt fear and pressure to conform to society. This changed though because once major individuals in social media came out or showed support for the LGBTQ community people began to open their hearts, accepting the differences between people, and realised that the people of this community are just like any other and that their sexuality or identity does not define them. As support grew, laws were made and rights the LGBTQ community were denied, were encouraged-including non conforming bathrooms, legal name changing and same-sex marriage. As of this year, there is a rise of millenials, and others (specifically those under the age of 34) who are choosing to follow the vegan lifestyle, after being informed of the diseases caused by an animal-based diet, as well as animal agriculture’s effect on the environment and the treatment of the animals in this