{"id":785,"date":"2013-02-20T10:42:21","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T18:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.showcasemarketing.com\/ideablog\/?p=785"},"modified":"2017-03-23T13:54:46","modified_gmt":"2017-03-23T20:54:46","slug":"truisms-that-inspire-and-amuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.showcasemarketing.com\/ideablog\/truisms-that-inspire-and-amuse\/","title":{"rendered":"Truisms That Inspire and Amuse"},"content":{"rendered":"

When writing gets difficult for me, I turn to HL Mencken<\/a>. The “Sage of Baltimore” was a free thinker and prolific writer in the early 20th century. His writing inspires me, improves my own writing and, I believe, helps me amuse my audience.<\/p>\n

\"HL

HL Mencken<\/p><\/div>\n

As time moves forward, Mencken becomes a little more obscure and misunderstood. But he remains eminently quotable. For example:<\/p>\n

Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem\u2014neat, plausible, and wrong.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He’s inspired me to collect and share many a truism, bon mot, aphorism and even a few jokes. With that, here are a few anonymous entries from the archives:<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  • Bad breath is better than no breath at all.<\/li>\n
  • Old age may not have much to recommend it, but generally speaking, it is preferable to the alternative.<\/li>\n
  • When you are not sure what to say or how to answer, the only two good choices are to either 1. tell the truth or 2. be quiet.<\/li>\n
  • If you want something to be different, you need to do something differently.<\/li>\n
  • If you always tell the truth you will never need to remember what lie you told to who.<\/li>\n
  • Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.<\/li>\n
  • Fall down seven times. Get up eight.<\/li>\n
  • Truth is illusory. Rumors are real.<\/li>\n
  • “Transparent” is the new buzzword for “buy my product now!”<\/li>\n
  • The best way to avoid a fight is to make sure the outcome is obvious before the first punch is thrown.<\/li>\n
  • Nobody will ever win the battle of the sexes because there’s too much fraternizing with the enemy.<\/li>\n
  • Character is what you are. Reputation is what people think you are.<\/li>\n
  • A man who says marriage is a 50-50 proposition doesn’t understand two things: 1. Women. 2. Fractions.<\/li>\n
  • The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.<\/li>\n
  • The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    And I close with one more from the “truisms that inspire” archive from Mr. Mencken himself:<\/p>\n

    The final test of truth is ridicule. Very few dogmas have ever faced it and survived.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    When writing gets difficult for me, I turn to HL Mencken. The “Sage of Baltimore” was a free thinker and prolific writer in the early 20th century. His writing inspires me, improves my own writing and, I believe, helps me amuse my audience. As time moves forward, Mencken becomes a little more obscure and misunderstood. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[58,57,56],"class_list":["post-785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ideas","tag-amusement","tag-hl-mencken","tag-truisms"],"yoast_head":"\nTruisms That Inspire and Amuse | Bill Freedman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Truisms that inspire and amuse. Great bon mots, aphorisms and one-liners, with a tip-of-the-hat to HL Mencken. 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