Mencken's Creed

[avalidpoint]

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...

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...

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