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.
H. L. Mencken
All the Secrets of the Universe and Some Really Important Stuff Too!
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.
H. L. Mencken
That’s been one of my favorite quotes for a while. Though the “all of them imaginary” bit might be overstated. Pretty sure this quote dates from the 1920’s or 1930’s & the following couple of decades definitely yielded several demonstrably real hobgoblins.
And the real hobgoblins were probably the last thing the “practical politicians” were pushing. But every rule has an exception. What’s the expression? Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.