I recently read
a collection of quotes by a German-American Journalist from Baltimore named H.
L. Mencken, who wrote in the early part of the last century. I found the collection interesting and
decided to use it as a springboard for some thoughts on the ideas they conjure
up. I recognize not all the quotes may
be exact or may be quoted differently from different sources. But, they are close enough to suffice.
#1) “American’s
admire the most daring liars and detest most those who try and tell them the
truth.” It is true that we probably
wouldn't vote for somebody who told us the truth. Rather, we'll vote for the guy/gal who tells
us we can cut taxes, expand our pet programs, and do it all while balancing the
budget. I recently heard an interview by
a candidate who is high in the polls who said the same thing. He claimed he could represent the interests
of all the citizens while cutting govt. spending. Everybody will vote for that, even though it
makes no practical sense. He was
pointedly asked by the interviewer for some specific details, but failed to
offer any. See one of my previous posts on
what I would do if I were president.
#2) “Democracy
is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.” When you study the writings of many of the
men in the constitutional convention you find that they were terrified of
giving the vote to the common man.
Rather, they wanted it to remain in the hands of the educated, landed
gentry. When the common man believes
things that don't make sense or votes for somebody based on how well their hair
is made up or whether they sweated during a debate, I fear the founding fathers
were right to fear. I believe in
representative government, but think it can only thrive under the direction of
an educated and moral electorate. I also
think we ought to take responsibility for the government we have created by
whom and what we have voted for. In the
end, regardless of how horrible we think it is, a representative government can
no more than represent and mirror society as a sum of its sometimes ignorant
and immoral whole.
#3) “The
press is a device for making the ignorant more ignorant and the crazy crazier.” Both sides of the political debate accuse the
oppositely aligned press of being biased and ignorant. They are probably both right. Everything is based on the spin of the
message and its sensationalism. When the
most prominent thing on the news is the shenanigans of some celebrity or
whether a football had the wrong air pressure in it, what does it say of our
society, its priorities, and its values?
When you find an article which attempts to give a reasoned and fact
based representation of multiple sides of a truly important issue, count
yourself lucky for handling such a rarity.
#4) “The
aim of public education is to put down dissent and originality.” It is a sad truth that education does tend to
reward and advance conformity. Facts can
trump reason. The ability to regurgitate
ideas on standardized tests is more important than critical thinking, cogent
analysis, and the ability to clearly and convincingly communicate advanced
thought. Our education system should
primarily be teaching students how to learn and evaluate—turning facts into
wisdom. But, how would you accurately assess
that? It is a quandary, but one we
shouldn't give up on.
#5) “A
judge is a law student who grades his own examination papers.” I feel greatly for somebody who is put in the
role of a judge and empowered to so deeply affect the lives of their fellow
humans. There is so much room for error
and so little oversight to correct excesses, intentional or otherwise. In the end, we are the imperfect passing
judgment on the accused sinners on behalf of the damaged. At best we can reward those who care more for
those they serve, both victim and accused, than they value their own opinions
and rulings.
#6) “A
philosopher is a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that isn’t
there. A theologian is the man who finds
it.” Lest I raise the hackles of the
religious who might read this, know that I too am a believer. However, I also look around me and see so
many different beliefs—many held as dearly as my own—and do not wonder how some
can scoff and claim it is all made up to opiate the masses. There are thousands of Christian
congregations, most of which claim to study and draw their beliefs from the
same Bible. Yet, they can interpret the
same passages in opposite ways, then claim their interpretation is ultimate
truth while consigning those who read it different to an eternal fire. Clearly if there is an ultimate truth to be
found, it needs to come from a higher source than the words in a book, whether
it be Bible, Qur’an, or Bhagavad Gita (all of which I have read). Even if we feel we have encountered that higher
source, we should retain some humility and charity for the beliefs of
others—including the skepticism of the non-believers.
#7) “The
urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule.” Some of the greatest tyrants in history have
burst onto the stage claiming salvation for their respective groups. Hitler preached a renewal of German pride and
accomplishment. Lenin and Stalin claimed
they were freeing the oppressed masses from the excesses of
capitalism--promising bread, land, and peace.
We should only seek to serve humanity.
There is only one empowered to save them. Reserve a healthy distrust for the person who
promises to solve all our problems without little or no pain. Remember the line from The Princess Bride,
“Life is pain princess, anybody who tells you different is trying to sell you
something.”
#8) “Love
is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.” I have quoted this often referring to first
marriages, with second marriages being the triumph of hope over experience, and
subsequent marriages as insanity for doing the same thing over and over and
expecting a different result. Certainly
it is true that romantic attraction, which too many in society label love, must
eventually and soon grow into something deeper and less grounded in physical
and emotional attraction or it is destined to die quickly away under the heat
of reality, leaving the individuals involved to wonder how they could have been
so mistaken. Then, they will just as
quickly dive into the next infatuation and claim true love at last.
#9) “For
every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” Complex problems rarely have clear and simple
answers. Politicians try and reduce
complex problems to sound bites, then throw over-simplified answers at
them. The devil, or angel, is always in
the details. We are right to not trust
generalized statements such as “close the borders,” “stimulate the economy,” “reduce
government,” “address homelessness,” “fight terrorism,” and “support our troops
and veterans.” If there aren’t some
comprehensive details presented, those phrases mean nothing!
#10) “Marriage
is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution.” There are many who claim that families are
falling apart, the sanctity of marriage is disappearing, and that family has
been redefined out of existence. I think
there is evidence out there to support all those statements. I also think we are missing the mark in terms
of an ultimate solution. This isn’t a
problem that will be solved through legislation or hatred towards those we
disagree with. Rather, I think our
emphasis should be on educating and changing the individual expectation about
what marriage really means and its realities.
Society’s expectations are dangerously skewed and unsupportable—resulting
in marriages either ending or disintegrating to relationships of quiet desperation
that leave us bitter and cynical. We
must change the perception of what a long term marriage means, what it takes to
be successful in terms of near heroic sacrifices and selflessness, and how to
deal with the myriad of problems that will always come. Societies will only change in the long run
when a critical mass of individuals have a change of heart.
#11) “In the
battle of the sexes, women fight from a submarine and men from an open raft.” It is certain we often fail to communicate
successfully with the opposite sex. It
is also true that there are differences in how we think and approach things—although
perhaps not as different as some would suggest.
These barriers will only be overcome as we follow Covey’s admonition to
seek first to understand and then be understood rather than expecting the other
person to just get it. But, of course,
that takes effort and if they really loved me I wouldn’t have to be so
overt. With such an attitude it is a
battle that both sexes will lose.
#12) “We
value rights less than we do privileges. The average person doesn’t want to be
free, they just want to be safe and comfortable.” Our reaction as a society since 9/11 has made
this statement a painful truism. We seem
unwilling to comprehend that everything we ask government to do to “make us
safe” through increased and more intrusive monitoring, suspending the rules of
evidence, and allowing arrests without warrants, takes away our individual and
societal freedoms. Regardless of what
they may have done, holding individuals arrested without warrants and then
leaving them in prisons without charges and without trail until they rot,
should be an affront to anybody who cares about our constitutional justice
system. Add to that torture and other
abuse, all in the name of getting information that may increase our security,
and we should be ashamed to call ourselves a beacon of freedom to the rest of
the world. We allow the government more
and more access to our most personal information as a supposed deterrent and we
gently, carefully, but willingly, give ourselves over to the Big Brother system
that Orwell warned us of almost a century ago.
We cannot accept and use the methods of tyranny to accomplish the
designs of freedom and democracy. To the
degree with do, we justify everything the violent extremists perceive in us. If we ignore
the abuse, discrimination, or dehumanizing of any individual and take away
their due process under law, we ultimately subject ourselves to the possibility
of the same treatment when our benevolent protectors turns tyrants.
#13) “An
historian is an unsuccessful novelist.”
We delude ourselves to some degree when we accept historical
interpretation as non-fiction. It has
been said that history is written by the winners, or at least those left
standing. No historian presents facts and
evidence without some interpretation and analysis, even if it is only in what
facts and evidence he decides to present.
The same historical events can be seen and interpreted from many
different perspectives. Was the document
of 1776 a declaration of independence from tyranny, or the ungrateful, rebellious
treason of citizens? Was Lincoln the
great emancipator, or the greatest suspender of individual and state’s rights
in the history of our country? Depending
on who and when you ask, both answers will be espoused as truth. And, there are historical facts to support
both conclusions. I have long felt that
if you don’t know enough facts and haven’t considered enough varied perceptions
to argue an issue from at least three sides, you don’t have the right to a
reasoned opinion. I feel the same way
about historical analysis.
#14) “If you
ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and
wink your eye at some homely girl.” What is a good person? How do we
identify them? Are we willing to admit
the stock we put on labeling people as good those who believe like we do, look
like we do, live where we do, and act like we do? Isn’t there some standard that rises above
all that and is applicable to all cultures, languages, creeds? If there is, I think some key words would be
tolerance, forgiveness, kindness, and charity towards others in both thought
and action. Let us all spend time
forgiving others and winking at those that might otherwise be passed over.
