Moe Davis quotes H.L. Mencken who said “the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety.”

“No one ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”

This oft-repeated observation is by H.L. Mencken, a journalist, satirist and cultural commentator from Baltimore, who made it almost a century ago. Some say Mencken was racist, misogynistic and antisemitic, while others say he used provocative language to stimulate thought rather than to advance a position. Regardless, I’m struck by how prescient he seems today.

Early in my campaign for Congress in 2020, I talked about people voting against their own interests. Advisers warned me to stop saying it because it implied that people are stupid.

In hindsight, I wish I had ignored the advisers and been more like Mencken. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the election, but I should have had the gumption to tell people the truth, even if it hurt their feelings. So here it is now: Stupidity is no path forward for Western North Carolina.

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Mencken’s famous quote is from his book, “Notes on Democracy,” published in 1926. The passage reads:

“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”

We’re witnessing the enormous power of galvanizing individual ignorance to achieve political aims. It’s how the wealth gap grew into a wealth chasm as ordinary folks swallowed the notion that “trickle-down economics” would lift their rafts along with the rich man’s yacht, and that the “right to work” was good for them and their families when it really meant “the right to live impoverished while the rich grow richer.”

It’s how pro-lifers can argue that every life is precious while cheering the execution of death row inmates and the drowning of migrants snared in razor wire strung across the Rio Grande. It is how lies can masquerade as truth, cruelty as compassion, immorality as virtue, criminality as law and order, sedition as patriotism, and an election that was lost as one that was stolen. Mencken warned that “truth would quickly cease to be stranger than fiction, once we got as used to it.”

Many haven’t just gotten used to fiction, they gleefully wallow in it and turn hostile when confronted with facts.

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The truth is WNC lags behind and it has for years. Take your pick — health care, education, broadband, wages — so many areas where we could do better if we just tried. Instead, many of us fall for charlatans who ignore facts and pander to feelings, even when those feelings are untethered from reality.

To quote Mencken again, “the whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.” It reminds me of the anti-crime summit Congressman Chuck Edwards held last summer where he spoke in ominous terms about “lawlessness” and the need to act before Buncombe County and WNC “turn into another crime-ridden Chicago or San Francisco.”

Sheriff Quintin Miller responded that Edwards’s statement sounded like something “from Fox News” and was not supported by crime statistics kept by the State Bureau of Investigation. As the Sheriff said, “it’s irresponsible to have a conversation about public safety that is not rooted in data.” Unfortunately, truth becomes irrelevant when politicians ignore it to manipulate the feelings of the electorate to enhance their own political fortunes.

Perhaps it’s a pipedream, but I hope voters will ask politicians what they plan to do for “us” rather than what they plan to do to “them,” the imaginary hobgoblins they whip up to manipulate the malleable masses. And make them back it up with facts, not with just a play on feelings. Mencken said, “the most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.” WNC can move forward, but only if it is willing to think.

Moe Davis is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and the former head of the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division at the Congressional Research Service. He is currently writing a historical fiction novel set in Western North Carolina.

PITTSBURGH (May 18, 2024) — The Pittsburgh Riverhounds extended their unbeaten streak to seven games, but the team was unable to hold on to take all three points and settled for a 1-1 draw with North Carolina FC tonight at Highmark Stadium.

Edward Kizza scored just before halftime for the Hounds (3-3-4), but a headed goal in the second half by Evan Conway pulled North Carolina (2-4-5) level.

It was the first draw in five meetings between the teams, and it came in front of a sellout crowd of 5,113.

First half

The Hounds were the more promising side to begin the match, though former Hounds player Louis Pérez had the first good chance with an eighth-minute free kick from 27 yards that missed just over the bar for North Carolina.

Back the other way seconds later, the Hounds had a golden opportunity when Langston Blackstock sent a low cross in from the right wing, but a lunging Kenardo Forbes couldn’t turn the ball on frame from close range.

Forbes put his next chance on target just before the half-hour mark, a curling shot from inside the box that was spilled by North Carolina keeper Antonio Carrera. The rebound went to Kizza out wide, but with his back to goal and no angle to shoot, he played the ball wide for Junior Etou, and no Hounds were able to get on the end of the next cross.

Kizza’s goal came in the 44th minute after Danny Griffin nearly dribbled through the North Carolina midfield, playing a pass that took a fortunate deflection to Blackstock as he ran toward the top of the box. Carrera and the defense closed to Blackstock, who wisely slipped a pass to his left, where Kizza was unmarked and played the ball into the open net.

Second half

Where the Hounds had the edge with 61 percent of first-half possession, North Carolina came back with 66 percent of the ball after the break.

The visitors tied the match when Pérez served in a long, high ball from the left side that ended up being perfectly placed. Conway sprinted between a pair of Hounds defenders, and his header stayed just under the crossbar for the tying goal in the 58th minute.

Both teams searched for a winning goal, and the best chance late came from North Carolina substitute Oalex Anderson. Anderson got the ball at his feet inside the box, and he was able to spin away from two defenders and put plenty of power on a shot moving away from goal, but Hounds goalkeeper Gabriel Perrotta was able to parry the shot away and keep the match tied.

Modelo Man of the Match

Langston Blackstock picked up his first assist of the season on the Hounds’ goal, and the right wing back had a strong two-way night. The second-year pro created two chances, won 7 of 14 duels — including all three tackles on the night — and tied for the match high with six clearances.

What’s next?

The Hounds will make a Memorial Day weekend trip to Tennessee, where they will face Memphis 901 FC at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 25. Memphis (4-5-1), which moved to the Western Conference this year, won last night against El Paso, 2-1.

Riverhounds SC lineup (5-3-2) — Gabriel Perrotta; Junior Etou, Luke Biasi, Pat Hogan, Illal Osumanu (Sean Suber 62’), Langston Blackstock; Kenardo Forbes (Dani Rovira 77’), Danny Griffin, Robbie Mertz (Aidan O’Toole 77’); Edward Kizza (Bradley Sample 62’), Kazaiah Sterling

North Carolina FC lineup (5-3-2) — Antonio Carrera; Ezra Armstrong, Bryce Washington, Paco Craig, Mikey Maldonado, Shaft Brewer; Collin Martin, Raheem Somersall (Rodrigo Da Costa 76’), Louis Pérez; Evan Conway, Garrett McLaughlin (Oalex Anderson 68’)

Scoring summary

PIT — Edward Kizza 44’ (Langston Blackstock)
NC — Evan Conway 58’ (Louis Pérez)

Discipline summary

PIT — Illal Osumanu 6’ (caution – tactical foul)
PIT — Junior Etou 67’ (caution – reckless foul)
PIT — Bradley Sample 85’ (caution – tactical foul)