Mark Twain Still Hits The Mark

Mark Twain

"Statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception". - Mark Twain -

I won't attempt to write an actual essay on Mark Twain. I'll only say this, the man knew the truth from the hogwash, and he was brave enough to speak it. Not bad for anyone living or dead.

I have read several books written by Mark Twain. I have laughed myself to the point of exhaustion while reading Twain's cynical observations of the world in which he lived.

The United States was as corrupt then as it is now, and people were just as hypocritical, and greedy then as they are now. None of what we're all going through is new folks. People have been congregating in various plots to rob their fellow man for as long as people have been people.

Mark Twain wrote of a young nation, a land full of natural resources, of unspoiled lands from one coast to the other. While people haven't changed the land has. In the last century and a half we have exploited only one thing more than each other - the land.

If Mark Twain were alive today would he be filled with a sense of optimism, or of dread? Perhaps he'd be just as confused as most people find themselves about the times in which we live, but I doubt it.

Here is a link to a Mark Twain resource.