Milton Mayer

Born :

August 24, 1908

Died :

April 20, 1986

This separation of government from people, this widening of the gap, took place so gradually and so insensibly, each step disguised (perhaps not even intentionally) as a temporary emergency measure or associated with true patriotic allegiance or with real social purposes. And all the crises and reforms (real reforms, too) so occupied the people that they did not see the slow motion underneath, of the whole process of government growing remoter and remoter.

patriotic government real

The marvels - of film, radio, and television - are marvels of one-way communication, which is not communication at all.

radio communication television

The art of dying graciously is nowhere advertised, in spite of the fact that its market potential is great.

dying death art

Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,' which the Nazis always talked about but never dared undertake, not even the Nazis, until war and its 'necessities' gave them the knowledge that they could get away with it. The people abroad who thought that war against Hitler would help the Jews were wrong. And the people in Germany who, once the war had begun, still thought of complaining, protesting, resisting, were betting on Germany's losing the war. It was a long bet. Not many made it.

government winning war

Scott Buchanan . . . taught me that the questions that can be answered are not worth asking.

I have never been able to understand why it is that just because I am unintelligible nobody understands me.

nobody-understands-me understand-me able

The American goes to Paris, always has, and comes back and tells his neighbor, always does, how exorbitant and inhospitable it is, how rapacious and selfish and unaccommodating and unresponsive it is, how dirty and noisy it is-and the next summer his neighbor goes to Paris.

selfish summer dirty