Envy is the central fact of American life.
Interpretation
Envy shapes social dynamics and attitudes in American culture.
Gore Vidal's statement on envy highlights its pervasive influence in American life, suggesting that feelings of jealousy and desire for what others have are central to understanding social interactions and behaviors in the society. This notion reflects on how envy can drive competition, create divides, and shape individuals' perceptions of success and happiness within a collective culture.
In practice
During a keynote speech, I mentioned, 'As Gore Vidal said, envy is the central fact of American life, reminding us to be aware of how jealousy affects our interactions and aspirations.
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.
What had been (at the beginning) no bigger than a full stop had expanded into a comma, a word, a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter; now it was bursting into more complex developments, becoming, one might say, a book - perhaps an encylopaedia - even a whole language.
Memories are dangerous things. You turn them over and over, until you know every touch and corner, but still you'll find an edge to cut you.
Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.
It is true that classical libertarian thought is opposed to state intervention in social life, as a consequence of deeper assumptions about the human need for liberty, diversity, and free association.
I have no interest in romanticizing poor black people, having been one of them myself in our beloved hometown of Detroit.
When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore unless the Indians are right and my spirit will walk here after I'm gone.
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