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Gore Vidal Quotes - Page 6

All Quotes Advertising Age Alcohol Altruism Army Art Atheism Atheist Belief Business Character Children Choices Conspiracy Constitution Country Critics Culture Cynicism Democracy Dying Earth Energy Envy Evidence Evil Failing Genius Giving Gossip Greed Hate Home House Inspirational Islam Language Latin Liberty Literature Love Lying Memories Metaphor Pain Past Pleasure Politics Prejudice Prohibition Purpose Reading Reality Religion Running Sarcasm Stupidity Talent Truman War Winning Worship Writing Youth

Half the American population no longer reads newspapers: plainly, they are the clever half.

Half the American population no longer reads newspapers: plainly, they are the clever half.

Clever, Population, Half

The most interesting thing about writing is the way that it obliterates time. Three hours seem like three minutes.

Writing, Interesting, Three

Gore Vidal, Richard Peabody, Lucinda Ebersole (2005). “Conversations with Gore Vidal”, p.59, Univ. Press of Mississippi

Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.

Thinking, Years, Numbers

Gore Vidal (1991). “A view from the diners club: essays 1987-1991”

Can you imagine having a love affair going on and on decade after decade? Macabre.

Affair, Imagine, Macabre

Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

The behaviour of President Bush on 11 September certainly gives rise to not unnatural suspicions.

Giving, President, Behaviour

"Gore Vidal claims 'Bush junta' complicit in 9/11" by Sunder Katwala, www.theguardian.com. October 26, 2002.

Realism has always been called cynicism.

Cynicism, Realism

To bring into the world an unwanted human being is as antisocial an act as murder.

Death, Dying, World

Gore Vidal (1969). “Reflections upon a sinking ship”

Drugs. If they did not exist our governors would have invented them in order to prohibit them and so make much of the population vulnerable to arrest, imprisonment, seizure of property, and so on.

Order, Political, Drug

Gore Vidal (2002). “Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How We Got to Be So Hated, Causes of Conflict in the Last Empire”, p.54, CLAIRVIEW BOOKS

As the age of television progresses the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception. To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days.

Birthday, Perfect, Progress

The Observer, February 7, 1982.

Without communism ... our state lacks a Wizard of Oz to terrify all the people all the time. So the state looks inward, at the true enemy, who turns out to be - who else? the people of the United States.

People, Enemy, United States

Gore Vidal (2001). “The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000”, Broadway Business

Write what you know will always be excellent advice for those who ought not to write at all. Write what you think, what you imagine, what you suspect!

Writing, Thinking, Advice

Gore Vidal (1999). “The Essential Gore Vidal”, Random House Incorporated

In a nation that has developed to a high art advertising, the creator who refuses to advertise himself is immediately suspected of having no product worth selling.

Art, Advertising, Selling

Gore Vidal (1988). “At home: essays, 1982-1988”, Random House Inc

Traitors who prevail are patriots; usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.

Usurpers, Succeed, Patriot

FaceBook post by Gore Vidal from Jul 21, 2016

Write something, even if it's just a suicide note.

Suicide, Writing, Notes

Gore Vidal, Richard Peabody, Lucinda Ebersole (2005). “Conversations with Gore Vidal”, p.17, Univ. Press of Mississippi

What is a political party but a conspiracy?

Party, Political, Democracy

Although the notion of one god may give comfort to those in need of a daddy, it reminds the rest of us that the totalitarian society is grounded upon the concept of God the father. One paternal god, one paternal leader. Authority is absolute.

Father, Daddy, Giving

Gore Vidal (2004). “Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia”, p.82, CLAIRVIEW BOOKS

The real writer learns nothing from life. He is more like an oyster or a sponge.

Real, Oysters, Sponges

FaceBook post by Gore Vidal from Dec 02, 2012

Celebrities are invariably celebrity-mad, just as liars always believe liars.

Liars, Believe, Mad

Gore Vidal (1995). “Palimpsest: a memoir”

You can't really succeed with a novel anyway; they're too big. It's like city planning. You can't plan a perfect city because there's too much going on that you can't take into account. You can, however, write a perfect sentence now and then. I have.

Writing, Cities, Perfect

Gore Vidal, Richard Peabody, Lucinda Ebersole (2005). “Conversations with Gore Vidal”, p.137, Univ. Press of Mississippi

Once people get hung up on theology, they've lost sanity forever.

People, Forever, Sanity

"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

Many human beings enjoy sexual relations with their own sex; many don't; many respond to both. This plurality is part of our nature and not worth fretting about.

Sex, Relation, Enjoy

Gore Vidal, Donald Weise (1999). “Gore Vidal: Sexually Speaking, Collected Sex Writings”

I said, well, it's a very primitive country, the United States, and it's full of superstitions, which come out of a very fundamental religious bias, which is primitive Christianity.

Country, Religious, United States

"Fresh Air Remembers Writer And Critic Gore Vidal". www.npr.org. August 2, 2012.

Novels, except as aids to masturbation, play no part in contemporary life.

Play, Fiction, Masturbation

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.

Character, Thinking, Race

Gore Vidal (1992). “Screening history”, Harvard Univ Pr

You see we adults have learned how to disguise our terrible characters but a child... well, it's like a grotesque drawing of us. They should be neither seen nor heard. And no one must make another one.

Children, Character, Drawing

Source: www.interviewmagazine.com

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