Henry Louis Mencken
H.L. Mencken was a famous writer and satirist, who often criticized the American government and culture.
Famous Writings
Quotes
"How does so much [false news] get into the American newspapers, even the good ones? Is it because journalists, as a class, are habitual liars, and prefer what is not true to what is true? I don't think it is. Rather, it is because journalists are, in the main, extremely stupid, sentimental and credulous fellows -- because nothing is easier than to fool them -- because the majority of them lack the sharp intelligence that the proper discharge of their duties demands."
- Prejudices: A Selection, p. 220
"No government is ever really in favor of so-called civil rights. It always tries to whittle them down. They are preserved under all governments, insofar as they survive at all, by special classes of fanatics, often highly dubious."
-Minority Report : H.L. Mencken's Notebooks (1956), p. 33
Biographies
