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
Interpretation
Mencken critiques the degradation of the law-making process, suggesting that it is no longer based on rational discourse but rather on coercion and manipulation.
H. L. Mencken's quote highlights the deterioration of democratic processes where laws should ideally be crafted through rational debate and public discourse. Instead, he points to a troubling reality where the formation and enforcement of laws are influenced by fear, intimidation, and corruption. This shift undermines the integrity of governance and reflects a deeper societal malaise regarding justice and power dynamics.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a speech on the importance of ethics in politics.
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.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
Wouldst thou know thyself, observe the actions of others._x000D_ _x000D_ Wouldst thou other men know, look thou within thine own heart.
Give me lust, baby. Flash. Give me malice. Flash. Give me detached existentialist ennui. Flash. Give me rampant intellectualism as a coping mechanism. Flash.
I believe in God the way I believe in quarks. People whose business it is to know about quantum physics or religion tell me they have good reason to believe that quarks and God exist. And they tell me that if I wanted to devote my life to learning what they've learned, I'd find quarks and God just like they did.
To hold an idea and convince ourselves we arrived at it rationally, we go in search of evidence to support our view.
The abdomen is the reason why man does not readily take himself to be a god.
When women understand that governments and religions are human inventions; that Bibles, prayer-books, catechisms, and encyclical letters are all emanations from the brains of man, they will no longer be oppressed by the injunctions that come to them with the divine authority of *Thus sayeth the Lord.*
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.