freedom or safety

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". The first sentence of the Declaration of Independence is one to be remembered.  These are the values that we, the US, hold to our dear hearts and use as our separation from the less democratic countries of the world.  However, the freedom outlined in these lines are not what many citizens want- instead, they want to be safe.

On a average day, an average man finds himself in many conundrums and at many crossroads.  It is only human instinct, however, to choose the road that leads to a safer life.  Often, that road is not one that guarantees the most freedom. For example, a typical internet user agrees to many policies that sacrifice his own freedom.  The terms and conditions to create an account on facebook include the condition that the user's name and other identifying information will be available to all those who see his profile.  While this seems like a horrid violation of the freedoms listed above, over 1.23 billion people have given up their freedom for such "safety". This safety is not the typical physical safety that often comes to mind, but rather "social safety". The idea that having a social media page will increase a person's value in society and therefore their safety in modern technology.

H. L. Mencken once said, “The average man does not want to be free. He simply wants to be safe.” In modern society, the idea of being safe socially may have been kept, but in the process, freedom has been sacrificed.