AN AMERICAN SATIRIST

Henry Louis Mencken was a legendary American writer, thinker, journalist and social critic. He was considered one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. I first learned about Mencken on my favorite cable news program "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" on MSNBC, one of the few intelligent and hard working journalists in the US today, .

Mencken was known for his satirical style of writing and his wittingly biting but humorous comments that covered a wide range of topics like marriage, love, war, relationship, church, religion, politics, American culture and American democracy. Here are a few of his memorable quotes in these topics.

On love and war:

"Love is like war; easy to begin but very hard to stop"

"Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't they'd be married too."

On Christianity/religion:

"Church: A place in which gentlemen who have never been to Heaven brag about it to people who will never get there"

On Voting and Christianity (a twofer-zinger, if you will):

Giving every man a vote has no more made men wise and free than Christianity has made them good.

On Communism and Christianity (another twofer):

"The trouble with Communism is the Communists, just as the trouble with Christianity is the Christians"  (Can I get an Amen? comment mine)

On Evangelicalism:

"Evangelical Christianity, as everyone knows, is founded upon hate, as the Christianity of Christ was founded upon love" (Can I get another Amen? comment mine)

On relationship and marriage:

"Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't, they'd be married too."

On Religion:

"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration - courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth"

On wisdom:

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average woman of forty-eight.

On life:

"You come into the world with nothing, and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothing"

In his essay "Prejudices: Third Series" Mencken writes the following scathing and sarcastic comment regarding what he considered a myth about the US as the "land of opportunity".

Here the business of getting a living ... is enormously easier than it is in any other Christian land-so easy, in fact, that an educated and forehanded man who fails at it must actually make deliberate efforts to that end. Here the general average of intelligence, of knowledge, of competence, of integrity, of self-respect, of honor is so low that any man who knows his trade, does not fear ghosts, has read fifty good books, and practices the common decencies stands out as brilliantly as a wart on a bald head, and is thrown willy-nilly into a meager and exclusive aristocracy. And here, more than anywhere else I know of or have heard of, the daily panorama of human existence, of private and communal folly-the unending procession of governmental extortions and chicaneries, of commercial brigandages and throat-slittings, of theological buffooneries, of aesthetic ribaldries, of legal swindles and harlotries, of miscellaneous rogueries, villainies, imbecilities, grotesqueries and extravagances-is so inordinately gross and preposterous, so perfectly brought up to the highest conceivable amperage, so steadily enriched with an almost fabulous daring and originality, that only the man who was born with a petrified diaphragm can fail to laugh himself to sleep every night, and to awake every morning with all the eager, unflagging expectation of a Sunday-school superintendent touring the Paris peep-shows.  

But the one statement that introduced me to Mencken and drove me to do more research on him was this timely and poignant quote about the presidency of the US government. Mencken made this statement (a prophecy is more like it) in 1920 some 87 years ago! Even leaving unnecessarily generous room for interpretation for today's Republicans or Neo-Cons, all I can say is, truer words were never spoken.

The larger the mob, the harder the test. In small areas, before small electorates, a first-rate man occasionally fights his way through, carrying even the mob with him by force of his personality. But when the field is nationwide, and the fight must be waged chiefly at second and third hand, and the force of personality cannot so readily make itself felt, then all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre - the man who can most easily adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum.

The Presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.

As Mr Olbermann said himself on his program after reading the above, check please! 

Chereka 

The good, the bad and ...

By Ketsela

"FOOLS ARE DARE ENOUGH TO ACT UP ON WHAT ANGELS ARE AFRAID TO DO"

Many things change in the dynamic nature of the American culture. Many laws were written and enacted to ensure equal rights and yet I seemed to observe, "two steps forward and one step backward" phenomena in the sport world. Last year we all witnessed the greatest super bowl ever coached by two African-Americans and to the many of us black people, the result was not as important compared to having Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith, tow African American coaches on the sidelines.

Then came the historic run by Barry Bond in breaking the career home run record in baseball echoed all over the country with quite a lot of doubters. The brother was accused of hitting 756 home runs using performance-enhancing drugs by the media and the white community. Was that really the reason for the doubts or was it that he happened to break the record? Of course I had witnessed Hank Aaron's homerun record-breaking event even at a time there was a lot of bickering between the media and the white world of America. What is important to note here is, when Hank Aaron broke the record, it was believed that no one could ever match it let alone a black man. Baseball, ladies and gentlemen, was considered as America's game along with hot dog and pie. The players before Hank Aaron, most of whom were inducted into the Hall of Fame were mostly whites. Just like most other sports, Black Americans were discriminated in all areas of the sport. If blacks made it like Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays did, they were never treated equally including staying in the same hotel with the white players.

So, what seems to be the problem with Barry Bonds? Ah! The problem was the record was held by the famous Babe Ruth aka The Bambino. He was and still is considered the baseball hero and no one was supposed to come close, particularly a black player to his home run record. Who was Babe Ruth? He played for few of the east coast teams and broke held most records and was considered to be the number one player in the history of baseball. Certainly, he was a great player. There is no doubt about it. But in comparison, what was placed on and the two Black men who came after him was that they were accused of this and that and other lame excuses. Mr. Ruth was a beer guzzling, big-bellied man. It is said that before and after the games he drank a case of beer! This, according to the media, was never a problem at all. Of course, there was no drug or alcohol test requirement on many of the players at the time. They were never required to follow the league's regulation. They did every thing. They were then above the law.

Now, Barry Bond made Babe Ruth to be placed in third place in the career home run history of baseball. The media continues to put a question mark on Bond's record. Oh! Oh! Barry never liked them either and had never been a willing partner to give interviews. But the latter one had never been that significant. Now the record is broken I wonder what they will do next to dethrone him. Way to go brother, you made me very proud!!!

Every thing that glitters is not gold. And then there is the stupidity of Michael Vick. How in the hell did he get involved in such a criminal action? Why? It is estimated his income ranges between 8 million to 13 million a year. Isn't it foolish to be entrapped by the racist world? This is one fool who got in trouble for no apparent reason. They caught him. They are so certain he committed the crime, even the senate opened a discussion where the most senior Senator Robert Byrd made a comment on the Senate floor "Barbaric, let that word resound from hill to hill." Readers when do our famous black brothers and sisters learn that they are being watched?