“Unlike every other nation in the world, the United States defines itself as a hypothesis and constitutes itself as an argument.” WorldStatesNationsUnitedUnited StatesArgumentHypothesis Book:Waiting for the Barbarians Source: Waiting for the Barbarians
“Given lesser opportunities, Kissinger would have done very well as a talk show host. Fortunately for him, although not so fortunately for the United States, he found his patron in Nelson Rockefeller instead of William Paley.” WellsStatesDoneShowsFoundOpportunityGivenUnitedUnited StatesHostNelsonTalk ShowsPatronKissinger Author:Lewis H. Lapham
“Unlike any other business in the United States, sports must preserve an illusion of perfect innocence. The mounting of this illusion defines the purpose and accounts for the immense wealth of American sports. It is the ceremony of innocence that the fans pay to see - not the game or the match or the bout, but the ritual portrayal of a world in which time stops and all hope remains plausible, in which everybody present can recover the blameless expectations of a child, where the forces of light always triumph over the powers of darkness.” WorldChildrenStatesLightPurposeGamesForceSportsWealthPerfectUnitedBusinessPayDarknessUnited StatesFansIllusionExpectationsAccountsRemainsInnocenceTriumphPreservesMotivational SportsRitualImmenseCeremonyPlausiblePortrayalBlameless Author:Lewis H. Lapham
“To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.” WorldHas BeensMadeSometimesStatesMomentsShowsFormPassionBlackUnitedRoomsPayUnited StatesSceneOne DayThirdsLawyerFortyPregnantThreateningBlack WomenAccompanyThird WorldElevatorsReception Author:Lewis H. Lapham
“Unlike any other business in the United States, sports must preserve an illusion of perfect innocence.” StatesSportsPerfectUnitedUnited StatesIllusionInnocencePreservesPopular Sports Author:Lewis H. Lapham
