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Quote by Ellen Willis

“To say that historical conditions made personal life possible, and with it the self-consciousness that allowed psychoanalysis to emerge, is to tell half the story: one also has to consider that the erotic impulse, ever pressing for satisfaction, had something to do with making the history that encouraged its expression.”

Quote by Ellen Willis

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Ellen Willis
Ellen Willis

Ellen Willis was an accomplished American cultural critic and essayist, renowned for her insightful perspectives on popular music, film, and gender issues. Her writing career spanned over four decades, influencing countless readers. more

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“Individuals bearing witness do not change history; only movements that understand their social world can do that. Movements encourage solidarity; the moral individual is likely, all unwittingly, to do the opposite, for bearing witness is lonely: it breeds feelings of superiority and moralistic anger against those who are not doing the same.”

WorldFeelingsIndividualSocialCan DoMoralMovementLonelyOppositesWitnessSolidaritySuperiorityBearing Witness
Author:Ellen Willis
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“Some conservatives have expressed outrage that the views of professors are at odds with the views of students, as if ideas were entitled to be represented in proportion to their popularity and students were entitled to professors who share their political or social values. One of the more important functions of college that it exposes young people to ideas and arguments they have not encountered at home is redefined as a problem.”

PeopleIfsImportantIdeasProblemHomeYoungPoliticalValuesSocialViewsShareStudentsCollegeArgumentFunctionProportionProfessorsOddsPopularityEntitledOutrageSocial Values
Author:Ellen Willis
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“The public's continuing ambivalence about cultural matters is all the more striking given that the political conversation on these issues has for 30 years been dominated by an aggressive, radical right-wing insurgency that has achieved an influence far out of proportion to its numbers. Its potent secret weapon has been the guilt and anxiety about desire that inform the character of Americans regardless of ideology; appealing to those largely unconscious emotions, the right has disarmed, intimidated, paralyzed its opposition.”

YearsHas BeensMatterCharacterPoliticalDesireGivenNumbersSecretEmotionIssuesInfluenceConversationAnxietyWeaponsWingsGuiltIdeologyRadicalProportionUnconsciousOppositionAggressiveContinuingRight WingIntimidatedParalyzedAmbivalenceInsurgency
Author:Ellen Willis
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