1260 - Quote

A few days ago I used the quote -

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis

Well yesterday I saw this in the paper -

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
H. L. Mencken

So off to Google I go. If you put the quote in the search box you get Sinclair Lewis all over the place. So I went to Wikipedia on Sinclair Lewis and found this about the quote -

Nothing!!!

Where to next? Wikiquote. -

Misattributed
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross."
A misquote of Harrison Evans Salisbury's 1971 citing of Lewis: "Sinclair Lewis aptly predicted in It Can't Happen Here that if fascism came to America it would come wrapped in the flag and whistling 'The Star Spangled Banner.'"

So let's check Wikiquote for H. L. Mencken -

Nothing.

Back to Google and 'Brainy Quotes'. They have it as Sinclair Lewis. also found this -

Fascism will come at the hands of perfectly authentic Americans.
John T. Flynn

And this -

Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance.
H. L. Mencken

So what about googling "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." "menchen"

3 hits, all referring to Lewis.

So let's search on "Harrison Evans Salisbury" and "fascism".

HEY! Someone has done a LOT more research than I could ever hope to right HERE.

NO NO NO, go back and click the link and read it.

So did you go there? Did you read it? Interesting ehh?

That leaves me with one last quote from H. L. Menchen.



The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animal.
H. L. Mencken