The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
Interpretation
Increasing democratic participation helps address the shortcomings of democracy.
H. L. Mencken's quote suggests that when the failings of a democratic system become apparent, rather than moving away from democratic ideals, society should enhance and expand democratic processes. By encouraging greater citizen involvement and decision-making, the weaknesses of the system can be remedied, leading to a more effective governance that truly reflects the will of the people.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for voting rights.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
A poet more than thirty years old is simply an overgrown child.
There cannot be true democracy unless all citizens are able to participate fully in the lives of their country.
America wins when the voiceless have a seat at the table, when the vulnerable are protected, and when working families have the same political clout as the wealthy.
Our real battlefield today is Asia and our real battle is the one between democracy and communism. . . . We have to prove to the world and particularly to downtrodden areas of the world which are the natural prey to the principles of communist economics that democracy really brings about happier and better conditions for the people as a whole.
Politics is the art of the possible; creativity is the art of the impossible.
The world must be made safe for democracy. Its peace must be planted upon the tested foundations of political liberty. We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire no conquest, no dominion. We seek no indemnities for ourselves, no material compensation for the sacrifices we shall freely make.
Most of us are conditioned for many years to have a political viewpoint - Republican or Democratic, liberal, conservative, or moderate. The fact of the matter is that most of the problems that we now face are technical problems, are administrative problems. They are very sophisticated judgments, which do not lend themselves to the great sort of passionate movements which have stirred this country so often in the past. - They deal with questions which are now beyond the comprehension of most men.
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