A sense of humor always withers in the presence of the messianic delusion, like justice and the truth in front of patriotic passion.
H. L. MENCKENDemocracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
More H. L. Mencken Quotes
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The average man does not get pleasure out of an idea because he thinks it is true; he thinks it is true because he gets pleasure out of it.
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After all is said and done, a hell lot of a lot more is said than done.
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No professional politician is ever actually in favor of public economy. It is his implacable enemy, and he knows it. All professional politicians are dedicated wholeheartedly to waste and corruption. They are the enemies of every decent man.
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What men value in this world is not rights but privileges.
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Socialist: A man suffering from an overwhelming conviction to believe what is not true.
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Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.
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Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.
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The chief difference between free capitalism and State socialism seems to be this: that under the former a man pursues his own advantage openly, frankly and honestly, whereas under the latter he does so hypocritically and under false pretenses.
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The only good bureaucrat is one with a pistol at his head. Put it in his hand and it’s good-bye to the Bill of Rights.
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There are two kinds of Europeans: The smart ones, and those who stayed behind.
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Laws are no longer made by a rational process of public discussion; they are made by a process of blackmail and intimidation, and they are executed in the same manner
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It doesn’t take a majority to make a rebellion; it takes only a few determined leaders and a sound cause.
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There’s really no point to voting. If it made any difference, it would probably be illegal.
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The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one’s time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
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It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
H. L. MENCKEN