The Libido for the Ugly by H.L. Mencken (Precis)

H.L. Menken wrote “The Libido for the Ugly” (1927) which claims that the United States, although one of the richest nations, is decrepit and it’s population finds the disgusting houses and towns simply fine. Menken uses passionate and invective word choice describing vividly the area of Pittsburgh suburbs to the Greensburg yards to express his contempt of the United States. He uses the over-exaggeration of the ugliness of the Pittsburgh suburbs to the Greensburg yards in order to convince the reader that America needs to change its ways and take examples from the Europeans. Menken directly addresses some unknown professor to look into the problems of the United States, but really he is lecturing the entire population of the U.S. to get their act in gear.