On 16 September 1985, when the Commerce Department announced that the United States had become a debtor nation, the American Empire died.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the shift in America's global economic status and its implications for the nation's power and identity.
Gore Vidal's quote captures a pivotal moment in American history when the country transitioned from being a creditor to a debtor nation, symbolizing a decline in its global influence and a change in the perception of the American Empire. The statement suggests that such economic shifts not only affect the nationβs financial standing but also signal a deeper, more existential crisis regarding its role and authority in the world.
In practice
During a lecture on economic shifts, one could cite this quote to illustrate the consequences of national debt.
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The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
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God knows what you've been doing, everything you've been doing. You may fool me, but you can't fool God!
THE FATHER: But don't you see that the whole trouble lies here? In words, words. Each one of us has within him a whole world of things, each man of us his own special world. And how can we ever come to an understanding if I put in the words I utter the sense and value of things as I see them; while you who listen to me must inevitably translate them according to the conception of things each one of you has within himself. We think we understand each other, but we never really do.
The longest-lived and the shortest-lived man, when they come to die, lose one and the same thing.
What ought a man be? Well, my short answer is 'himself'.
A battering ram can knock down a city wall, but it cannot stop a hole. Different things have different uses.
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