On Collective Wisdom and Individual Ignorance & Vice Versa

In this era of electoral upheaval, with Donald Trump and the European hard right rattling the gates of power, it is perhaps a propitious moment to rescue the American satirist and cultural icon HL Mencken from obscurity. Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was an admirer of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (‘I Am Dynamite’) and as outspoken, if not more so, than the polemicist he idolized. In fact, HL Mencken was the first to write a scholarly analysis of Nietzsche’s views in English.

HL Mencken, alternately despised and admired for his acerbic observations, did not hold the public, or its opinions, in high esteem and feared that democracy would, by design, lead to mediocrity – or the imposition of the lowest common denominator. A gifted and erudite wordsmith, he spew his venom in all directions without regard for political affiliation or creed. He displayed a pronounced loathing of hypocrisy and social mores. He defined puritanism, that most American of traits, as “the haunting fear that somebody, somewhere, may be happy.”

Amongst the treasure trove of ‘meckeniana’ are a few quotes that ring as true today as they did a century ago. Here is Mencken on democracy:

• Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
• Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.
• Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.

The last quote in particular is useful when cognitive dissonance reigns supreme amongst the great unwashed. He was far from alone for his disdain of vox populi; even Winston Churchill admitted that a five-minute chat with the average voter would dispel any lofty notions of ‘rule by the people’. Then again, Mr Churchill also surmised that “democracy is the worse form of government, except for all the others.” Mencken agreed.

It Can’t Happen Here

Interestingly, HL Mencken was a close friend of writer Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) who in 1935 penned It Can’t Happen Here, a prophetic political novel that details the rise to power of the fictional Berzelius Windrip, America’s first dictator. Stoking fears, promising social reform, and promoting both patriotism and ‘traditional values’, Windrip is duly elected president and soon afterwards cancels all opposition. He takes full control in a self-coup. Sound familiar?

In the United States today, a merry cabal of born-again christians, hill billies, conspiracy thinkers, robber barons, and assorted conservatives is ready to take over the White House. They are led by a man who went unloved in early childhood, was ignored by his parents, and remains singularly unable to display any form of empathy or self-reflection: a man-boy.

A pathological liar, Donald Trump has created an alt-truth bubble where it doesn’t rain when it pours (his January 20, 2017, inauguration day) and elections cannot be lost because “I’m like really smart, a very stable genius who made billions upon billions.” It helps explain why Mr Trump suffered six bankruptcies and has trouble paying $354 million in the civil fraud case brought against him by the New York attorney general. Or the $88.3 million he owes E Jean Carroll in damages for sexual assault.

Most Trump supporters claim to live by high ethical standards. They are mostly law-abiding and decent folk, often fervent believers, and honest to a fault. In a word; good people individually but a mob collectively.

As a potentially violent sociopath, Mr Trump is a stranger to verifiable fact and truth. Moreover, he shows such a blatant disregard for the rules of courteous social interaction, that he meets five of the six criteria that, according to American Society for the Study of Psychopathy, define a psychopath, arguably only lacking in superficial charm. That said, the man cannot help himself and may not be blamed for his delusions of intellectual grandeur, infallibility, and make-belief surroundings. However, he must not again be entrusted with political power.

Most Brilliant Man Ever

Mr Trump is so convinced that he is the most brilliant man ever to have dwelled in the White House that it rubs off on others. Repeat a lie often enough and do so convincingly, and before long people will start accepting that alt-truth even when easily observable reality dictates otherwise. Empiricism is in full retreat.

HL Mencken offers two insightful nuggets of common sense that help explain the herd following its alpha male man-boy into the Washington swamp: “Democracy is a form of worship. It is the worship of jackals by jackasses” and “for every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”

The affliction of severe cognitive dissonance is, however, not confined to the United States; it has infected other countries as well, particularly in the English-speaking world. It took the British people over fourteen years and four parliamentary elections before they realized that successive conservative governments had steered their kingdom to the brink of collapse through sheer incompetence.

Peering at the Peers

It never fails to amuse to watch the rather destitute Brits compare their ‘green-and-pleasant-land’ to its supposed peers on the continent. Whilst once upon-a-time that was an interesting parallel to explore, those former peers of the UK have since moved on and progressed so far ahead that the White Cliffs of Dover are no longer even in sight.

The UK has not only suffered a long and painful decline masterminded by austerity-crazed yet profligate Tories, it also heaped the blame for this on Brussels and the ‘unelected bureaucrats’ that hold sway there. They then boldly decided to turn their back on the European Union but not without first demanding to keep most membership privileges in a phenomenon known as ‘cakeism’. That, of course, didn’t fly in Brussels and ever since have the Brits been whining and whimpering over the raw deal that was presented them. As HL Mencken cautioned: “It is what you wanted and deserve to get – good and hard.”

And thus it is that the hapless British people prepare for the upcoming holiday season with a bit of trepidation. The European Union is about to implement a novel but long-delayed scheme that gathers and stores the biometric data of all third country travelers crossing its borders. Next year, it gets worse with the introduction of ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) which requires visa-exempt non-EU nationals – including Brits – to pre-authorize their travels.

Got It Good and Hard

It is feared that both moves will result in mega delays and apocalyptic tailbacks at ferry terminals such as Dover. The previous British government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak got a thick ‘nein/non’ when it requested an exemption for British passport holders. It is not so much that the British are not welcome on the continent, as it is that they must realize, and perhaps even experience, that they are no longer part of the club and therefore receive the exact same treatment as meted out to other non-EU travelers. A question of receiving – good and hard – what you wanted. Now Rejoice!

There is an edifying didactic quality to HL Mencken’s cynicism: actions have consequences and so do votes. It is all good and well to vote a liar, charmer, clown, snake oil peddler, or über-nationalist into high office – you are after all free to do so – but please bear the repercussions of such folly stoically, keep the upper lip stiffened, and wisen up next time you’re invited to give your opinion.

Cover photo: Cultural critic, cynic, social observer HL Mencken, an American cultural icon.