#rican

We have flattered ourselves by inventing proverbs of comparison in matter of blindness,--"blind as a bat," for instance. It would be safe to say that there cannot be found in the animal kingdom a bat, or any other creature, so blind in its own range of circumstance and connection, as the greater majority of human beings are in the bosoms of their families. Tempers strain and recover, hearts break and heal, strength falters, fails, and comes near to giving way altogether, every day, without being noted by the closest lookers-on. ↗

— Helen Hunt Jackson

#blindness #california #family #female-author #female-authors

Early on I set out to write the next Great American Novel, and then later on I set out the silverware and enjoyed my dinner in silence. 
 ↗

— Jarod Kintz

#dinner #eat #food #great-american-novel #silence

...After all, acknowledging unfairness then calls decent people forth to correct those injustices. And since most persons are at their core, decent folks, the need to ignore evidence of injustice is powerful: To do otherwise would force whites to either push for change (which they would perceive as against their interests) or live consciously as hypocrites who speak of freedom and opportunity but perpetuate a system of inequality. The irony of American history is the tendency of good white Americanas to presume racial innocence. Ignorance of how we are shaped racially is the first sign of privilege. In other words. It is a privilege to ignore the consequences of race in America. ↗

— Tim Wise

#black-and-white #black-history #george-zimmerman #hypocricy #privilege

...with the most infinite tenderness I have ever known in my life, he put his arms around me, gently, gently, and I embraced him around the neck, and we touched... ↗

— Katherine Anne Porter

#life

Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of all trips outside the home, for whatever distance or whatever purpose, Americans now get in a car. On average, the total walking of an American these days - that's walking of all types: from car to office, from office to car, around the supermarket and shopping malls - adds up to 1.4 miles a week...That's ridiculous. ↗

— Bill Bryson

#appalachian-trail #cars #hiking #transporation #walking

Mac knocks on the door. After he updates Spider, he asks, “Do you have your weapon with you?” “Yes, it’s like my American Express card. I never leave home without it.” Mac hears Spider lock and load the weapon. Reassured that Spider is going to be all right, he walks out the front door. ↗

— David McKoy

#weapons #home

You know, if you're an American and you're born at this time in history especially, you're lucky. We all are. We won the world history Powerball lottery. ↗

— Bill Maher

#humor #luck #humor

What I see as the greatest threat to America is that the American people will put political pressure on their leaders to pull out of Iraq before we should. ↗

— Thelma Drake

#american #american people #before #greatest #greatest threat

Our job is to be an awake people...utterly conscious, to attend to our world. ↗

— Louis Owens

#native-american #inspirational

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