I think H.L. Mencken shocked philistines everywhere by simply telling the naked truth. As Bertrand Russell observed : " Nakedness is shocking to all right minded people and so is the truth " . Whether he was talking about American plutocrats , politicians , socialists, journalists, Nazis or Jews Mencken rarely crossed the line beyond demonstrable TRUTH . But I do wonder : was he wrong about the blessings of alcohol ? He could see the merits in great American authors -like Theodore Dreiser - before other professional sensitive souls did.