September 12 is Most Endangered Species Day

Celebrating the Life and Work of Two World-Historical Geniuses Who Now Belong to the Ages

"I believe that liberty is the only genuinely valuable thing that men have invented, at least in the field of government, in a thousand years. I believe that it is better to be free than to be not free, even when the former is dangerous and the latter safe. I believe that the finest qualities of man can flourish only in free air – that progress made under the shadow of the policeman's club is false progress, and of no permanent value. I believe that any man who takes the liberty of another into his keeping is bound to become a tyrant, and that any man who yields up his liberty, in however slight the measure, is bound to become a slave."

from "Why Liberty?" by H.L. Mencken, "Chicago Tribune", January 30, 1927

"I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind — that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.

I believe that no discovery of fact, however trivial, can be wholly useless to the race, and that no trumpeting of falsehood, however virtuous in intent, can be anything but vicious.

I believe that all government is evil, in that all government must necessarily make war upon liberty; and the democratic form is as bad as any of the other forms.

I believe that the evidence for immortality is no better than the evidence of witches, and deserves no more respect.

I believe in the complete freedom of thought and speech — alike for the humblest man and the mightiest, and in the utmost freedom of conduct that is consistent with living in organized society.

I believe in the capacity of man to conquer his world, and to find out what it is made of, and how it is run.

I believe in the reality of progress.

I —But the whole thing, after all, may be put very simply. I believe that it is better to tell the truth than to lie. I believe that it is better to be free than to be a slave. And I believe that it is better to know than be ignorant."

from "What I Believe" by H.L. Mencken, "The Forum" #84, September 1930

Henry Louis Mencken was born on this date in Baltimore in 1880.

"Science, like Nature

Must also be tamed

With a view towards its preservation

Given the same

State of integrity

It will surely serve us well

Art as expression –

Not as market campaigns

Will still capture our imaginations

Given the same

State of integrity

It will surely help us along

The most endangered species –

The honest man

Will still survive annihilation

Forming a world –

State of integrity

Sensitive, open and strong."

from "Natural Science III. Permanent Waves", Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson; Lyrics by Neil Peart (Permanent Waves, 1980—written and recorded 1979)

"I watch their images flicker

Bringing light to a lifeless screen

I walk through

Their beautiful buildings

And I wish I had their dreams

But dreams don’t need

To have motion

To keep their spark alive

Obsession has to have action —

Pride turns on the drive"

from "Mission", Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson; Lyrics by Neil Peart (Hold Your Fire, 1987)

Neil Ellwood Peart was born on this date in Hamilton, Ontario in 1952. He would have been seventy today. Unfortunately, glioblastoma robbed the world of one of its most important active cultural figures on January 7, 2020 when he was still in his prime as a prose writer (if no longer in his prime as a drummer).

It should be a holiday.

And I'd have significantly less obsessions and virtually no action, today, without the work of these two.

(Regarding "What I Believe"--I do not agree that all government is evil, and I think religion was a necessary stage in mankind's development that introduced crucial ideas such as individualism and integrity.)

If you find any value in anything I have written—you will find a treasure trove of erudition, eloquence, enlightenment (and, especially in Mencken’s case, humor) in just about any of their books or works.

On September 11, I mourn losses (and not just losses of lives). On September 12, I celebrate the resilient, efficacious, artful, and entertaining human mind and two of the most stupendous individual human minds. They practiced Enlightenment in a culture that had long ago become its antipode, the Endarkenment.

If the long-overdue second Renaissance ever arrives, it would not have been possible without H.L. Mencken and Neil Peart.