It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail. by Gore Vidal

It is not enough to succeed. Others must fail.

Gore Vidal

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Next to "I win," "I told you so" are the sweetest words. by Gore Vidal

Next to "I win," "I told you so" are the sweetest words.

smugness next winning

In fact, life itself is a contradiction if only because birth is the direct cause, in every single case, of death

birth causes facts

Democracy is supposed to give you the feeling of choice, like Painkiller X and Painkiller Y. But they're both just aspirin.

pain choices giving

What we are is seldom what we want to be, while what we want to be is either denied us or changes with the seasons.

denied seasons want

I liked the trichotomy, that's the only thing I ever liked. by Gore Vidal

I liked the trichotomy, that's the only thing I ever liked.

When you are brought up in a zoo, you know what's going on in the monkey house. You see a couple of monkeys loose and one is President and one is Vice President, you know it's trouble. Monkeys make trouble.

couple house zoos

"Terrorism" is a metaphor, it's an abstract noun. It's like having a war on dandruff. It's something from advertising, it's meaningless.

nouns advertising war

I'm devoted to promiscuity, and always have been. I believe the more you do, the better it is for you. I'm a great health nut, and sex is, I think, absolutely marvelous for the whole system; tones you up.

believe sex thinking

We have been at war almost constantly since the last century. And it has not helped our institutions. Congress no longer represents the people. The courts do not practice justice any more. The armies never stop playing at being the policemen of the world and of oil.

army practice war

The theater needs continual reminders that there is nothing more debasing than the work of those who do well what is not worth doing at all.

theater theatre needs

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.

race character thinking

The behaviour of President Bush on 11 September certainly gives r... by Gore Vidal

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

behaviour president giving

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.

cities perfect writing

Somebody has to keep score and I decided I was going to do it. I'm a born score-keeper and I realize, like an umpire, that my decisions may cause distress.

umpires causes decision

Sex was a great no-no for Americans, so that was obviously an attraction to the writers, and since sex is a great part of most people's lives, it's a great subject.

subjects sex people

What is a political party but a conspiracy? by Gore Vidal

What is a political party but a conspiracy?

democracy political party

It is not enough merely to win; others must lose. by Gore Vidal

It is not enough merely to win; others must lose.

loses enough winning

The United States is my subject, but as Hawthorne once wrote, "the United States are suited for many admirable purposes, but not to live in."

hawthorne united-states purpose

Maybe there is no good God. But there is definitely a devil, and his predominant passion is the religion of Protestant fundamentalists. I believe my country is beginning to resemble a theocracy. Using television, the evangelists raise appalling amounts of money which they then invest in the election of mentally disabled obscurantists.

passion believe country

I was the first - I was extremely unpopular with the establishment of the United States, particularly the New York Times was always an enemy, and Time magazine, off and on, the enemy, because I said things and took positions that other people didn't do.

new-york people enemy