#erica

Anti-Americanism may indeed have grown fiercer than it was during the cold war. It is a common phenomenon that when the angels fail to deliver, the demons become more fearsome. ↗

— Ian Buruma

#bigotry #cold-war #leftism #politics #united-states

Much of our food system depends on our not knowing much about it, beyond the price disclosed by the checkout scanner; cheapness and ignorance are mutually reinforcing. And it's a short way from not knowing who's at the other end of your food chain to not caring–to the carelessness of both producers and consumers that characterizes our economy today. Of course, the global economy couldn't very well function without this wall of ignorance and the indifference it breeds. This is why the American food industry and its international counterparts fight to keep their products from telling even the simplest stories–"dolphin safe," "humanely slaughtered," etc.–about how they were produced. The more knowledge people have about the way their food is produced, the more likely it is that their values–and not just "value"–will inform their purchasing decisions. ↗

— Michael Pollan

#dilemma #food-chain #food-regulation #food-safety #ignorance

We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor. ↗

— Martin Luther King Jr.

#economy #usa #economy

For most Americans, economic growth is a spectator sport. ↗

— Paul Krugman

#economic #economy #economy

American journalism (like the journalism of any other country) is predominantly paltry and worthless. Its pretensions are enormous, but its achievements are insignificant. ↗

— H.L. Mencken

#journalism #media #media

You sounded like Dolly parton on helium." (After kristy lee cook of season 7 on american idol,sang her country rendition of the Beatles'"Eight Days A Week.) ↗

— Simon Cowell

#criticism #judging #wit #wit

Really good fiction could have as dark a worldview as it wished, but it'd find a way both to depict this world and to illuminate the possibilities for being alive and human in it." [Q&A with Larry McCaffery, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Summer 1993, Vol. 13.2] ↗

— David Foster Wallace

#darkness #fiction #human #humanity #mankind

The most important thing for everyone in Gringolandia is to have ambition and become 'somebody,' and frankly, I don't have the least ambition to become anybody. ↗

— Frida Kahlo

#america #fame #fame

America's health care system is second only to Japan, Canada, Sweden, Great Britain, well ... all of Europe. But you can thank your lucky starts we don't live in Paraguay! ↗

— Matt Groening

#health-care #japan

[I]n communism, you'd threaten a dog into compliance, while in capitalism, obedience is obtained through bribes. ↗

— Adam Johnson

#capitalism #communism #economics #north-korea #obedience