Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.
Interpretation
The quote humorously critiques modern public figures for their inability to engage with the written word.
Gore Vidal's quote highlights a concerning trend among contemporary public figures who seem detached from the very material they present to the public. He suggests that not only do they rely on others to write their speeches and books, but they may also lack the ability to read and understand these texts, indicating a broader issue of authenticity and engagement in leadership today.
In practice
Using this quote in a discussion about the need for authenticity in politics.
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.
Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning.
It was great to be the rock comic, the shock comic. But after you've played Giants Stadium with Bon Jovi in front of 82,000 people, after you've done the 'Wild Thing' video with Jessica Hahn and every rock band from hell, you're not gonna top that.
I respect a man who knows how to spell a word more than one way.
Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy, which, if it remained unused, might become negative, that is, poison. Laughter is the antidote.
The worst part of it is you don't know if he's barking at an owl, the moon or a burglar!" "That's one of the drawbacks of a limited vocabulary!
Musical people always want one to be perfectly dumb at the very moment when one is longing to be perfectly deaf.
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