One would like to say in the aftermath of the 2008 election that everyone lived happily ever after. But the American drama, especially when it involves race, is always more complicated than that.
Frank RichRead
The cruel ambush of 9/11 supposedly 'changed everything,' slapping us back to reality. Yet we are constantly shocked, shocked by the foreseeable.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on how major events can drastically alter our perspective but also highlights our tendency to be surprised by predictable outcomes.
Frank Rich's quote points to the profound impact of the 9/11 attacks on society, suggesting that such a traumatic event forced people to confront harsh realities. Despite this awakening, he observes a continual human astonishment at events that, in hindsight, appear predictable or avoidable, hinting at a disconnect between awareness and understanding in human nature.
Themes
9/11RealityShockAwarenessPredictability
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience after national tragedies.
More from Frank Rich
All quotes →I'm always struck by the kids who turn up in New York and LA, and places in between. Chicago. Wanting to do theater, wanting to do independent film. Wanting to break into television or radio.
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There’s nothing entertaining about watching goons hurl venomous slurs at congressmen like the civil rights hero John Lewis and the openly gay Barney Frank. How curious that a mob fond of likening President Obama to Hitler knows so little about history that it doesn’t recognize its own small-scale mimicry of Kristallnacht.
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