Mencken's Thought for the Day

Friday, 14th August 2009

Writing the diary column* for this week's edition of the magazine, I can't believe I failed to quote from HL Mencken. The insufferable nonsense provoked by what passes for a healthcare "debate" (on both sides of the Atlantic) would have entertained the Sage of Baltimore no end. As Peter Suderman reminds one, Mencken viewed these absurdities with an appropriately jaundiced eye:

“I enjoy democracy immensely," he wrote. "It is incomparably idiotic, and hence incomparably amusing. Does it exalt dunderheads, cowards, trimmers, frauds, cads? Then the pain of seeing them go up is balanced and obliterated by the joy of seeing them come down.”

Quite so. Quite so.

*Probably the only piece you'll read this week featuring Alex Salmond, Calvin Coolidge, Bob Woodward and Mark Ramprakash.

Filed under: Health (235 more articles) , Journalism (62 more articles) , Mencken (3 more articles) , Politics (211 more articles)

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Beefeater

August 15th, 2009 4:37am Report this comment

So many nincompoops blabbering about healthcare. All so tiresome. Blah-blah.

Thank heaven one can quote someone who quotes a droll put-down from someone else - a writer who not only had a thought or two but also wrote them down before he died.

Being a detached observer is exhausting enough without having to, you know, go into things. A little yawn, a little Mencken found by happy chance, and there you have it - the old blogaroo done.

As the master of pose said (twice): "Quite so."

Dave

August 15th, 2009 5:28am Report this comment

Don't know who are planning to have for tomorrow's next, and by far the best part of your blog, is the Sunday Morning Country. My suggestions are: Guy Clark, Willie Nelson (May have already gone), Avett Brothers singing Greensboro Woman (on you tube), Josh Ritter and Loudon Wainwirght (not exactly country, but they capture the spirit)...I could go on...

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