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\clas{AP Lang}
\name{Holden} \last{Rohrer}
\prof{Jones}
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\title{Analysis of {\it A Case of Mental Courage}}

In journalist and philosopher David Brooks’ investigation of contemporary American culture’s weakness ``A Case of Mental Courage,'' he prescribes intentional thoughtfulness to the often frivolous and unfocused modern philosophy.
By labeling specific examples of mental strength or frailty and using language related to honor or righteousness, Brooks identifies a quasi-religious change in Western culture to an audience that lacks ``conscious[ness] of [its] severe mental shortcomings.''

He starts chronologically, with an early $19^{\rm th}$ century novelist Fanny Burney who practiced the virtues consciousness of self and ``mental character.''
Brooks uses words like ``arduous,'' ``resolved,'' and ``heroism'' as comments on her ordeal of a mastectomy without anesthesia.
His diction emphasizes the idea that her mastectomy (and writing about it) has character---while it doesn't demonstrate any specific high moral practice like charity, the self-sacrifice (the mental strength she used) is equally valuable and respectable.
Brooks talks about how she suffered through a ``mental boot camp'' which is commendable because it developed her ``ability to face unpleasant thoughts.''

After providing such a respectable example, Brooks transitions to the modern day.
He observes her action as somewhat of a cultural artifact.
Because the church and other institutions, at the time, held people ``to be inherently sinful,'' work was believed to be essential to a moral and proper life, so people were more willing to ``conquer mental laziness.''
When moving to description of modern American and Western culture, Brooks criticizes limited ``talk of sin and frailty,'' blaming capitalism for this change.

Brooks notes institional changes like the media attempting to ``please customers,'' and accuses ``the competition for eyeballs'' of developing this.
He describes the change as inarduousness and a lack of skepticism, trying to appeal to a sense of goodness and discouraging these institutional changes that he thinks emblematic of the culture through that.
He lists off ``natural weaknesses'' that are prevalent in today's society: confirmation bias, cognitive miserliness, herd thinking, and he uses them to criticise the people.
Since capitalism has displaced the church's role as the organizational unit of society, Americans don't need to consider their own shortcomings, and he uses similarly strong language to specify these issues.
He reuses the terms ``mental flabbiness'' or ``mental character'' throughout the article to identify the specific issues and provides a singular point of focus for his writing.
But he also associates these with the specific vices of modern culture to create the idea that Americans should act more like Burney or some of the people Brooks interviews.


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