"The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens in time of peace. All the rest have been disposed of by judicial interpretation and legislative whittling. Probably the worst thing that has happened in America in my time is the decay of confidence in the courts. No one can be sure any more that in a given case they will uphold the plainest mandate of the Constitution. On the contrary, everyone begins to be more or less convinced in advance that they won't. Judges are chosen not because they know the Constitution and are in favor of it, but precisely because they appear to be against it."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Humorists from the United StatesEssayists from the United StatesJournalists from the United StatesColumnists from the United StatesHistorians from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._L._Mencken
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
H. L. Mencken
Henry Louis Mencken (12 September 1880 – 29 January 1956), known as H. L. Mencken, was a twentieth-century journalist, satirist, social critic, cynic, and freethinker, known as the "Sage of Baltimore" and the "American Nietzsche". He is often regarded as one of the most influential American writers of the early 20th century.
237 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by H. L. Mencken →
Related Quotes
"Mowa pospolita, pospolicie prawdziwa."
"One hears murmurs against Mussolini on the ground that he is a desperado: the real objection to him is that he is a p…"
"When women kiss, it always reminds one of prize-fighters shaking hands."
"Creator — A comedian whose audience is afraid to laugh."
"A man who has throttled a bad impulse has at least some consolation in his agonies, but a man who has throttled a goo…"
"The Jews could be put down very plausibly as the most unpleasant race ever heard of. As commonly encountered they lac…"
"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Re…"
"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under."
"Theology — An effort to explain the unknowable by putting it into terms of the not worth knowing."
"To a clergyman lying under a vow of chastity any act of sex is immoral, but his abhorrence of it naturally increases …"