The constitution has broken down. We have no enemies except the ones we select and direct towards the nearest nuclear bombs. They need an enemy to provoke, a diversion. This is the mentality of tenth-rate people who are in politics because corporate America likes them. They are malleable. They give them contracts to build missile shields that will never work. It's deeply corrupt.
Interpretation
The quote critiques the manipulation of public perception by political figures and corporate interests to create and maintain conflicts.
Gore Vidal’s quote speaks to the disintegration of democratic ideals and the consequent emergence of a manipulative political climate. He argues that political leaders, driven by corporate agendas, fabricate enemies to serve their interests, pushing societies towards unnecessary conflict. This reflects a deeper corruption where the motives of those in power supersede the well-being of the public.
In practice
In a discussion about electoral integrity, this quote can highlight concerns regarding political manipulation.
We must declare ourselves, become known; allow the world to discover this subterranean life of ours which connects kings and farm boys, artists and clerks. Let them see that the important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
American writers want to be not good but great; and so are neither.
Writing fiction has become a priestly business in countries that have lost their faith.
The important thing is not the object of love, but the emotion itself.
For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.
Ayn Rand's 'philosophy' is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society.... To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.
The President is the peoples lobbyist.
You may scoff at the Tooth Fairy if you like. But the Tooth Fairy's approach has gotten more politicians elected than any economist's analysis.
People seem to know about May Day everywhere except where it began, here in the United States of America. That's because those in power have done everything they can to erase its real meaning.
Politics has become so expensive that it takes a lot of money even to be defeated.
Public opinion in Egypt is very antagonistic to the way the dictatorship, Mubarak dictatorship, interpreted relations with Israel. Very antagonistic.
Being political is an integral part of being Iranian. Our lives are defined by politics.
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