#america

Each of us lives with a sword over his head. There are those who can ignore its shadow and those who cannot. Those who cannot are not necessarily better than those who can. But they are the creators of the special myth of their time, because any myth is the creation of the very few who cannot bear reality. ↗

— Murray Kempton

#activism-inspiration #american-history #ethics #myth #revolution

Don't talk to me about aesthetics or tradition. Talk to me about what sells and what's good right now. And what the American people like is to think the underdog still has a chance. ↗

— George Steinbrenner

#american #american people #chance #good #like

I've always loved movies about con men. I think con men are as American as apple pie. ↗

— Bill Paxton

#always #american #apple #apple pie #con

I reply with my own bout of sarcasm, speaking in my best George Dubya voice. “Corporate America, driven by the power elite, a group so powerful they orchestrate wars in order to generate wealth—incomprehensible wealth. A group of people loyal to no country—whose interests know no borders—who manipulate all peoples and cultures equally, adhering to no government regulations. And as long as the people continue to elect dumb politicians like myself, it will be easy to maintain control. Just remember, America, fool me once, shame on…shame on you… Fool me, you can’t get fooled again. ↗

— Aaron B. Powell

#humor #politics #equality

But when they brought Sabira out, the crowd parted almost magically. A sea of hands rose faster than a swell and a bidding war commenced, amongst these civilized gentlemen who made their living off the backs of slaves. ↗

— Jay Grewal

#black-history #equality #slavery #equality

How a member of the church—one who had read the Good Lord’s bible—could sit so calmly and watch a man be led to his destruction frightened me. ↗

— Jay Grewal

#black-history #civil-war #equality #justice #slavery

It's my experience that most folk who ride trains could care less where they're going. For them it's the journey itself and the people they meet along the way. You see, at every stop this train makes, a little bit of America, a little bit of your country, gets on and says hello. ↗

— David Baldacci

#train #experience

The issue, perhaps, boils down to one of how perceptions or misperceptions of racial difference impact various individuals’, or groups of individuals’, experience of freedom in America. Some would argue that it goes beyond hampering their “pursuit of happiness” to outright obliterating it. ↗

— Aberjhani

#demographics-of-united-states #diversity #equality #freedom #george-zimmerman

After listening to a lot of these stories, I began to think that American loneliness is a completely different creature from anything we experience in this country, and it made me glad I was born Japanese. The type of loneliness where you need to keep struggling to accept a situation is fundamentally different from the sort you know you'll get through if you just hang in there. ↗

— Ryū Murakami

#japan #life #loneliness #struggle #experience

Foisting an identity on people rather than allowing them the freedom and space to create their own is shady. ↗

— Raquel Cepeda

#freedom-of-thought #hispanic #identity #immigrant-experience #latino-americans