Tuesday, September 24, 2013

To the small and disreputable minority


For those of you who can't read that tiny shit:

"The fact is that the average man's love of liberty is nine-tenths imaginary, exactly like his love of sense, justice and truth. He is not actually happy when free; he is uncomfortable, a bit alarmed, and intolerably lonely. Liberty is not a thing for the great masses of men. It is the exclusive possession of a small and disreputable minority, like knowledge, courage and honor. It takes a special sort of man to understand and enjoy liberty ~ and he is usually an outlaw in democratic societies."
~H.L. Mencken

5 comments:

Volfram said...

Freedom is kind of like flying.

It's scary at first. Why's the ground so far away? What happens if gravity suddenly notices me and asks what I'm up to?

But...

For once you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skywards, for there you have been and there you will long to return.
-Leonardo da Vinci

Once you've tasted flight, walking will never satisfy you again.

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite quotes from HL. A lot of heavy truth in it. Good find Miz Wiser!

sconsin rick said...

yep. sounds like me. I have always hated being told what to do or what to think, and never understood how others were not as bothered by it as I was. plus I am not only good with excepting the consequences of my actions I want it no other way.

Phil said...

This explains why I can't stand to be around boring people with no sense of adventure and have a physical aversion to Nanny types.

I have been a wild one since I was knee high to a chopping block and always had my own thoughts and ways when it came to following rules.
Bend 'em, break 'em and ignore 'em.

It's the outlaw life for me.

RabidAlien said...

Not everybody is cut out to be the "lone adventurer" type. There are those who prefer to be followers, and without us, nothing would get done. If everyone were a leader, and giving orders, then nobody would follow those orders. However...there are follower-types who do tend to think for themselves, and are not willing to just blindly follow anybody. If the leader is demanding that we sacrifice our freedom and liberty, that person is unworthy of being a leader, and the followers will stand up and choose a new leader who is worthy of their following.