August 6, 2025

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 (1880–1956), American journalist, literary critic, In Defence of Women (1923), Jay p.256

Which are your hobgoblins of choice?

This keeps politicians in power and, to boot, sells a lot of newspapers (or keeps everyone plugged into social media).