World events are the work of individuals whose motives are often frivolous, even casual.
Interpretation
World events can be influenced by individual actions that may seem trivial or unimportant.
This quote by Gore Vidal highlights the notion that significant world events often stem from the actions of individuals whose motivations may not be as profound or serious as one might expect. It suggests a skepticism about the grand narratives we create around history, reminding us that sometimes the trajectory of major changes can be the result of seemingly trivial decisions made by individuals acting on whim or personal gain.
In practice
During a discussion on how small actions can lead to major political changes.
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.
Religion was supposed to be a blanket drawn up to your chin to keep you warm, a promise that when it came to the end, you wouldn't die alone - but it could just as easily leave you shivering out in the cold, if WHAT you believed became more important than the fact THAT you believed.
Morality, like numinous awe, is a jump; in it, man goes beyond anything that can be 'given' in the facts of experience.
When you criminalize something, only criminals can deal with it. When criminals deal with it, there's no recourse to law, so there's only recourse to violence.
All wars, whether just or unjust, disastrous or victorious, are waged against the child.
And to tell the truth I don't want to let go of the wrists of idleness, I don't want to sell my life for money, I don't even want to come in out of the rain.
Americanism is a question of principle, of idealism, of character. It is not a matter of birthplace, or creed, or line of descent.
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