"Our form of democracy is bribery, on the highest scale."
"It is notable how little empathy is cultivated or valued in our society. I put this down to our traditional racism and obsessive sectarianism. Even so, one would think that we would be encouraged to project ourselves into the character of someone of a different race or class, if only to be able to control him. But no effort is made."
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Source: Gore Vidal (1992). “Screening history”, Harvard Univ Pr
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