I'm ashamed and embarrassed to say that I've read very little of David Foster Wallace's work. It's a huge gap in my education, one of many. Ben Fountain More Quotes by Ben Fountain More Quotes From Ben Fountain After Bush was elected in 2004 - please note that I didn't say 're-elected' - and I was walking around in my befuzzed state of confusion and low-grade depression, I set out more or systematically to read writers who'd grappled with that fundamental question of what America is, why it is the way it is. Ben Fountain walking depression america way The main thing about writing is... writing. Sitting your butt down in the chair and doing the work. Ben Fountain down sitting work writing My first visit to Haiti was in May 1991, four months into the initial term of Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. At the time, it seemed that Haiti was on the cusp of a new era. Ben Fountain new first president time Americans care a lot about authenticity, rightly so. Every election is a quest for the genuine article. This is precisely what makes the long con of American politics such a rich and mystifying study. Ben Fountain rich election politics long Let the record reflect: the American people are a bunch of suckers. Ben Fountain record reflect american people If you're looking for the phony in American politics, you could do worse than follow the money. Ben Fountain looking you politics money In the arsenal of the phony, the politics of God is one of the deadliest punches to the sweet spot of the American mind. Ben Fountain politics god mind sweet If you want to see a bunch of happy Americans, go out to opening day at any baseball stadium in the land. Ben Fountain day see you happy Even a cursory run through American history shows exceptionalism has been used to justify bloodshed, oppression, and profit. Ben Fountain american run oppression history American history is not clean. Ben Fountain american clean history Surely it's no coincidence that the Era of the AUMF, the Era of Endless War, is also the Golden Era of the Chickenhawk. We keep electing leaders who, on the most basic experiential level, literally have no idea what they're doing. Ben Fountain doing golden coincidence war Learning essential stuff is as much a discipline as going to the gym or sticking to a diet, and an excellent antidote for the modern condition of being numb and dumb. Ben Fountain diet gym discipline learning We, America, elected Trump. Putin didn't do it, nor the trolls in St. Petersburg with their zillions of busy bots. They may well have plucked certain strings in the national psyche - played us like a dimestore ukulele - but we were keen to be plucked. Ben Fountain us like busy america Obama was elected on the shoulders of an incipient movement that he allowed to languish once he became president. Ben Fountain he shoulders movement president