Significant sentences from HL Mencken's Minority Report, acerbic thoughts on American life and culture.
"The essential difficulty of pedagogy lies in the impossibility of inducing a sufficiency of superior men and women to become pedagogues." p. 20.
"It is impossible to make boys take seriously the teaching of men they hold in contempt." p. 20.
"No one rally cares what the private morals of the other fellow may be, but there must be some confidence that he will react in ordinary situations according to the familiar patterns and without too much aberration." p. 21.
"...even in the best society, manners are immensely important." p. 21.
"No man can be really friendly to another whose personal habits differ materially from his own.... The trivialities of table manners...become important." p. 21.
"Each [people of different nationalities] can become accustomed to the ways of the other, but it takes time, and in certain fields it takes a good deal of time." p. 21.
"All poetry is simply an escape from reality." p. 22.
"The five-day week...has given... more time to listen to the radio and look at movies.... No sign whatever that any considerable number of the underprivileged have put their new leisure to profitable use.... Just as stupid as they were before they had it.... Some reason to believe that they are more stupid." p. 22.
"It seems to be inevitable for all men, after they are put in positions of authority, to exercise it in a brutal and inequitable manner." p. 23.
"The moral bully is the worst of all; Puritanism is completely merciless." p. 23.
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