"Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under"

This quote by H. L. Mencken talks to the concept that governments are frequently not held to the very same requirements of decency as individuals. Mencken suggests that when a federal government fails to promote the worths of its citizens, it provides embarassment for those citizens. This quote implies that governments ought to be held to a greater requirement of morality and principles than the typical person, which when they fail to do so, it is a reflection of individuals who chose them. It likewise implies that people ought to take duty for their federal government's actions and be willing to hold them accountable. Mencken's quote is a tip that federal governments need to be held to a higher requirement which residents must not be contented when their federal government stops working to satisfy that requirement.