Sometimes the idiots outvote the sensible people.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the frustration that arises when irrational or uninformed opinions prevail over rational ones in decision-making processes.
H. L. Mencken's quote reflects a common concern in democratic societies where the majority opinion can sometimes undermine sound reasoning and sensible arguments. It emphasizes the idea that intelligence and critical thinking do not always lead to victories in public discourse, as emotions and populism can overpower logic, leading to decisions that may not be in the best interest of society.
In practice
In a debate about public policy, someone might use this quote to express their concern about how popular sentiment can overshadow expert advice.
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.
People talk about smart sanctions and crippling sanctions. I've never seen smart sanctions, and crippling sanctions cripple everyone, including innocent civilians, and make the government more popular.
There are still people in my party who believe in consensus politics. I regard them as Quislings, as traitors... I mean it.
It is hard to feel individually responsible with respect to the invisible processes of a huge and distant government.
In the lexicon of the political class, the word 'sacrifice' means that the citizens are supposed to mail even more of their income to Washington so that the political class will not have to sacrifice the pleasure of spending it.
Who gets the risks? The risks are given to the consumer, the unsuspecting consumer and the poor work force. And who gets the benefits? The benefits are only for the corporations, for the money makers.
Democracy only has substance if there's the rule of law. That is, if people believe that the votes are going to be counted, and they are counted. If they believe that there's a judiciary out there that will make sense of things if there's some challenge. If there isn't rule of law, people will be afraid to vote the way they want to vote.
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