"Democracy is...the worship of Jackals by Jackasses..."
I cannot find many individuals who managed to have a state legislature pass a motion to pray for their soul. H.L. Mencken accomplished just that in 1931 due to a reference to Arkansas as the "apex of moronia". (I am sooo going to use that!)
When reviewing any works or references to Mencken, one must remember he was revered for his satirical nature. He consistently presented an anti-American, crass libertarian perspective. He accepted elitism as a necessary course of community. Refuted any claims that he was a racist, though his stereotyping and audacious writings against all ethnicities would bode otherwise.
If I write much more about H.L. Mencken, it will give away the common thread between all of those whose opinions I would value. I challenge any of you (heck, all of you) to read Libido for the Ugly or Treatise on Right and Wrong to genuinely test your skills on analyzing satirical prose for sincerity versus cynicism. Besides, they are exceptional reads especially if you consider the time period in which they were written.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Henry Louis Mencken
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2 comments:
This is your most controversial choice so far, measured by today's standards of political correctness. I don't happen to think he was a racist, since race was not the only lens through which he saw the world. A racist, to me, is someone who thinks in terms of race all the time, someone to whom race explains everything. If I'm not mistaken, Nietschze was Mencken's favorite philosopher. Nietschze was also the philosopher who had the greatest influence on Ayn Rand. And Mencken was Ayn Rand's favorite columnist. It all fits together so well....
You are right. Nietsche was one of his favorites...also one of my own. He wasn't just a racist...more appropriately I should call him a bigot of all that is not of his caliber. Problem was his sense of caliber was a touch off.
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