H. L. Mencken Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

"The state remains, as it was in the beginning,
the common enemy of all well-disposed,
industrious and decent men."

by:	H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American Journalist, Editor, Essayist, Linguist, Lexicographer, and Critic
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Categories:	Freedom, Independence, Law, Liberty, Responsibility, Self-Reliance, Statism
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Reader comments about this quote:

The herd mentality (responsibility to the whole) along with all autocracies are threatened by the free and noble individual. -- Mike, Norwalk 5
-- Anonymous, Reston, VA US
I suggest the book "Atlas Shrugged" as an example of this. -- Joe, Rochester, MI 3
I've always liked the "Sage of Baltimore"!!!! -- charles Saunders/csaunders61@yahoo.com, st. petersburg,fla./U.S.A. 3
Only a "well-disposed, industrious and decent" man would know this. ;-) -- E Archer, NYC 5
Well, he did not stutter, did he. I wish he were wrong. After all, someone is going to run things, and that someone (or those ones) should have the general good at the center of their plans. The state is bad when the statesmen are bad. The state is corrupt when those running it are corrupt. But there will be a state, as long as men run things. -- David L. Rosenthal, Hollywood 3 1
So if you are a decent man then it follows that you are an enemy of the state. Stands to reason given the state we now have. -- J Carlton, Calgary 4
And Joe, don't forget "The Fountainhead" and Animal Farm!" -- cal, lewisville, tx 3
And Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty Four." Been to an airport lately? -- J Carlton, Calgary 2
Reston, don't be late for the Party meeting on Friday. Those commies get real testy when Party members are late. -- jim k, austin 2
LOL, good to know that the above parties seem to be of the opinion that the founding fathers of the United States were (by inference) NOT well-disposed, industrious and decent men and that they (by inference) created a state that was evil from its very beginnings... I think it is pretty clear here that the above parties are pretty much uniformly opposed to America and American values... -- Anonymous, Reston, VA, US 2
"uniformly opposed to America and American values..." Which are? Democracy? Socialism? American values have been lost for a long time...the above posters just want them back. -- J Carlton, Calgary 2
Guys, lets not get personal, there's already to much hate in the world. On reflection the statement is dumb (though I will give it two stars for its intention) "well-disposed" (to what), "industrious" (today we have no industry except the war machine), "decent men", there's no such thing as decent men - sorry, there may be a decent man or two. And for the ladies out there, don't worry male chauvinism was rampant in those days - hence Pankhurst and the Suffragette's - it's hard to believe that less than a hundred years ago women were not allowed to vote and then at last when they were they had to be 30 and over. Another Liberal victory - many more followed especially when she experience the workhouse's where 7 year old girls and pregnant women were slaves. -- RBESRQ
Those who have nothing to do but to fight "the state" are neither well disposed or industrious and I will refraing on casting an opinion on their man hood. Taking this guy to heart then Washington, Jefferson and all of the rest of the men who have served the so called "state" are enemies. I suggest that those who are obsessed with the so called "state" are that way not because of the size or strenght of the state but because of their own small stature. -- Waffler, Smith 5
Waffler...you cast stones and have no backbone of your own to back it up. You are the embodiment of a well trained statist. The rest of us are opposed to leviathan and its sickening creep into every aspect of our lives...our busy industious lives which are very much hampered by the state you so love. And Washington and Jefferson were advocates of a restrained government....the opposite of what you advocate, so there is no comparison there either. When will you make sense? -- J Carlton, Calgary 2
"Government, in it's last analysis, is organized Force". Woodrow wilson -- jim k, Austin, Tx 2
Those of a thumbs down have displayed over time that the government is their god and church. No one can speak ill of the sacred cows. -- Mike, Norwalk 2
The same criticism can be leveled at those with the thumbs up Mike Norwalk. The religious fervor associated with the sacred constitution and the god like worship of those who recycled its central ideas from previous European ideology is plain to see. Government is necessary. The State as a tool of government is necessary. Quantity and quality is the debate. -- Mick, Manchester
Mick, your plain sight needs a heavy perscription set of glasses - seeing things that are not there; maybe those kaleidoscope glasses of yours aren't as clear as you think. First, the vast majority of the Constitution was conceptualized directly from principles and political pursuits found in the Bible. Greek versions of philosophic natural law (by way of application was the second most central of ideas referenced. Next, were certain philosophers such as John Locke and William Blackstone (in that order - totally rejecting the concept of "social contract") that were quoted as expressing well the principles found in the Bible (Locke and Blackstone quoted the bible more than any other source). I've seen no god like worship of the founders. As to a sacred constitution, I haven't run across that as much as the religious zealots that advance socialism, collectivism and all else that is antithetical to freedom, liberty and rights. The last real vestiture of the US Constitution was eliminated by the War between the States. I agree with you that there is a lot of criticism to go around - both left and right (none-of-which are constitutional). I also agree with you that with as large a grouping of people as exist world wide, a body politic is a critical reality. As are the current affairs within all nations on earth, as I am aware, "The state remains, as it was in the beginning, the common enemy of all well-disposed, industrious and decent men." The original principles and laws of nature and of nature's God attempted by the U.S. founders were unique in the history of man and were not nearly achieved at inception while, that which was established was very short lived. -- Mike, Norwalk 2
Mick, the American republican form of government is formed upon the unanimously declared 'rights of man.' The Crown rejected his subjects' claims to independence and sent ships and armies to bring the colonies back into line. The Americans won their Liberty -- which should be remembered what that was: they were no longer subjects to Crown or Priest (the European way for centuries). Great study was put into creating a system of government in which the People were sovereign and the government SUBJECT to the will of the people. Unlike European ideology, a republican form of government starts with the individual in his sovereign capacity, responsible for the condition and quality of his life, noble in his pursuits and pleasures, respecting the same in everyone else. An American can own land without permit or tax from his servant government -- or at least that was the intention. A sheriff and magistrate are elected in the county, and the rules of due process are based on the Common Law and trial by jury. The counties form 'the several states' each with their own Constitutions and branches of government. The STATES charter the federal government which is subject to the States, not the other way around. There was no income tax, only excise taxes of no more than 2% -- any more than that would cause rebellion. The People did not form government to provide for them. It was for their common defense out of their individual right to self-defense. Government is formed to protect their hard fought Liberty! The adoption of European ideology has occurred over a couple hundred years. Central banking is the first corruption of American sovereignty. The Rothschild banking dynasty conquered the Crowns of Europe to which all became beholden -- the US Civil War was financed by them, and after the smoke cleared, another private central bank was established in the US with an income tax soon to follow as a guarantee to the bank. Volumes have been written on the fall of European monarchies to this system -- well connected to the Vatican and thus far-reaching world wide. Once people don't use real money but trade in IOU's, property doesn't actually change hands, just the equitable interest. You may tax people using your land or using your car -- so if you are paying a tax on something you 'own' chances are you really don't own it but are simply liable for it. Just like in England when you drive on the King's highway through the King's land you might see some of the King's deer. It's ALL the King's, he just issues permits, licenses, titles -- all with obligations attached. The U.S. gradually re-adopted these practices -- usually as temporary measures in an emergency but then never rescinded. Banking and insurance businesses became de facto government and financed many trillions to private profit-making on the backs of the People. Little by little, when everyone is obligated to their banker for survival, they become subservient, property-less, powerless even -- this is EXACTLY what results in and feeds a STATIST central government -- and that is what the de facto US government has become, but it is not the lawful, Constitutional government established by We The People. Liberty must ALWAYS be defended, as history has shown there will always be a need to defend oneself from predators in many forms. Collective power is the engine of civilization. All the more reason for it to remain distributed in the hands of every person rather than funneled to the top of the pyramid to be ruled by whomever managed to connive their way to the throne. -- E Archer, NYC 4
Who is the determinate of "the general good" ? San Francisco administrators of "the general good" is not my perception of good. Some mentally deficient malefactors consider socialism as a "general good at the center of their plans". In a government of law, morals can not be legislated. -- Mike, Norwalk 1
It is the well-disposed, industrious, and decent man who changes that state in the final analysis. No one else is going to make those needed changes. -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown
-- E Archer, NYC
Reston, your public education is showing. The founding fathers declared independence from the monarchical State and formed a union of sovereign States based upon a republican form of government, not a statist form. Knowing the difference makes all the difference ... -- E Archer, NYC
Hear, hear! ;-) -- E Archer, NYC

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