The way to deal with superstition is not to be polite to it, but to tackle it with all arms, and so rout it, cripple it, and make it forever infamous and ridiculous. Is it, perchance, cherished by persons who should know better? Then their folly should be brought out into the light of day, and exhibited there in all its hideousness until they flee from it, hiding their heads in shame.
Interpretation
Superstition should be confronted aggressively rather than ignored or treated with respect.
In this quote, H. L. Mencken asserts that superstition is a phenomenon that deserves not just calm dismissal but a fierce and dedicated opposition. He emphasizes that it must be exposed and ridiculed so that those who cling to such beliefs, often despite better knowledge, can see the folly of their ways. Only through rigorous confrontation can society rid itself of these irrational beliefs and reveal their absurdity to those who may hold them dear.
In practice
During a public debate on science education, one might quote Mencken to emphasize the importance of confronting erroneous beliefs.
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.
You never know who it's going to be, or what they'll bring, but whatever it is, it's always exactly what is needed.
Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic.
Nobody had noticed, nobody had paid attention, but, as usual, the essential part of the matter had been settled before the story had begun, and by then it was too late.
Gentleness, self-sacrifice and generosity are the exclusive possession of no one race or religion.
Our knowledge of God is perfected by gratiitude: we are thankful and rejoice in the experience of the truth that He is love.
It is essential that we realize once and for all that man is much more of a sex creature than a moral creature. The former is inherent, the other is grafted on.
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