Let no one mistake it for comedy, farcical though it may be in all its details. It serves notice on the country that Neanderthal man is organizing in these forlorn backwaters of the land, led by a fanatic, rid of sense and devoid of conscience.
Interpretation
The quote warns against underestimating serious issues presented under the guise of humor.
H. L. Mencken's quote conveys a grave concern that what may appear to be comedic or trivial on the surface is actually indicative of deeper societal issues, such as the rise of primitive and irrational elements in society, led by individuals lacking moral conscience and rationality. The juxtaposition of comedy and serious warning serves to highlight the urgency of addressing these dangers, even if they manifest in unexpected ways.
In practice
In a speech addressing political extremism, one might reference this quote to emphasize the serious underlying issues in seemingly comedic rhetoric.
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.
Your only problem, perhaps, is that you scream without letting yourself cry.
Sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge… There are two ways to be your own Savior and Lord. One is by breaking all the moral laws and setting your own course, and one is by keeping all the moral laws and being very, very good.
Tragically, some people believe they are going to heaven when they die just because a few drops of water were sprinkled over their heads a few weeks after their birth. They have no personal faith, have never made a personal decision, and are banking on a hollow ceremony to save them. How absurd.
The antiquity and general acceptance of an opinion is not assurance of its truth.
To become a spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life.
Boundary, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of another.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.