Thank you for shining a brilliant light on more eternal writings.
Many points to comment in support of, but one I believe that has changed over the past century and whose difference is so often missed is this.
From my perspective, the size in volume and reach of "the government" is what has changed this transient pimple into a debilitating cyst, that now threatens the life of its host.
The question then is who will bear the lance and who will cleanse the wound?
I found the same sort of humor in PJ O'Rourkes rantings. There is an element of the self-appointed curmudgeon which stands alone as comedic; the form illustrates our most common human inconsistencies. To interpret the writer's voice in a literal manner (e.g. the Sun) shows a lack of understanding of both the writer and one's self. It is also much less fun. I'd like to think O'Rourke and Mencken might be swapping stories somewhere.
You can't help but wonder, how Menken would be viewed if he had destroyed his diaries before his death. We all in the privacy of our own thoughts state things that would make some people hate us. We all have a dichotomy in private/public life. You'd have to be a robot to never think or write in private something offensive.
But that is the goal of woke after all. We must not be human, complex and sometimes irrational. We must all be unthinking automatons, only saying and writing that which is approved.
Thank you for shining a brilliant light on more eternal writings.
Many points to comment in support of, but one I believe that has changed over the past century and whose difference is so often missed is this.
From my perspective, the size in volume and reach of "the government" is what has changed this transient pimple into a debilitating cyst, that now threatens the life of its host.
The question then is who will bear the lance and who will cleanse the wound?
"Fair. But nobody understands or cares or wants to understand or care anymore."
The anatomy of the modern malady, right there.
I found the same sort of humor in PJ O'Rourkes rantings. There is an element of the self-appointed curmudgeon which stands alone as comedic; the form illustrates our most common human inconsistencies. To interpret the writer's voice in a literal manner (e.g. the Sun) shows a lack of understanding of both the writer and one's self. It is also much less fun. I'd like to think O'Rourke and Mencken might be swapping stories somewhere.
My father always quoted Mencken when I was growing up. Thank you for writing this. I’m definitely going to check out his works.
Nice. Love me some Mencken!
You can't help but wonder, how Menken would be viewed if he had destroyed his diaries before his death. We all in the privacy of our own thoughts state things that would make some people hate us. We all have a dichotomy in private/public life. You'd have to be a robot to never think or write in private something offensive.
But that is the goal of woke after all. We must not be human, complex and sometimes irrational. We must all be unthinking automatons, only saying and writing that which is approved.
I have a weird fantasy that Mencken is a juror in 12 Angry Men. I wonder how long he would hold out against Fonda? One of the first? Fifth? Ninth?