“It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.”

American journalist, essayist, satirist, and cultural critic

H. L. Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He wrote in the early twentieth century and became known for sharp, combative prose and commentary. Mencken wrote widely on literature, music, prominent politicians, and the cultural movements of his day. His satirical coverage of the Scopes trial, which he called the "Monkey Trial," brought him wider notice. The word Menckenian entered dictionaries as a label for things associated with him, including his rhetorical style.