The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.
Well. Mr. Mencken has made my reading list with that quote alone
Got any suggestions on starting points with mencken? What is the best book for a new reader of his work
http://www.mencken.org/mencken-society/text/txt002/recommended-reading.htm
Thanks!
Now is a great time to read Mencken:
Completely lawless for them.