Quote

The United States was founded by the brightest people in the country — and we haven't seen them since.

Gore Vidal

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

Gore Vidal
Age: 86 †
Born: 1925
Born: October 3
Died: 2012
Died: July 31
Actor
Essayist
Journalist
Literary Critic
Non-Fiction Writer
Novelist
Opinion Journalist
Playwright
Politician
Prosaist
West Point
New York
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal
Gor Vidal
Cameron Kay
Eugene Luther Vidal
Edgar Box
Katherine Everard
Eugene Vidal
Haven
Seen
Since
United
Brightest
States
Gore
Country
Founded
People
Investing
Havens

More quotes by Gore Vidal

Image
As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse, so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests.
Gore Vidal
Image
Andy Warhol is the only genius I've ever known with an IQ of 60.
Gore Vidal
Image
The word 'radical' derives from the Latin word for root. Therefore, if you want to get to the root of anything you must be radical. It is no accident that the word has now been totally demonized.
Gore Vidal
Image
If you're a critic of the rulers of the United States, you are either demonized, or you are trivialized by the press, and they do a very good job of making you into a non-person or a ridiculous person.
Gore Vidal
Image
Poor John Simon - what a nightmare, to wake up in the morning and realize that you are John Simon.
Gore Vidal
Image
Traitors who prevail are patriots usurpers who succeed are divine emperors.
Gore Vidal
Image
They are longing for a war with Iran. Iran is no more a harm to us than was Iraq or Afghanistan. They invented an enemy, they tell lies, lies, lies. The New York Times goes along with their lies, lies, lies. And they don't stop. When the public that's lied to 30 times a day it's apt to believe the lies, is not it?
Gore Vidal
Image
The problem with most Americans is that they don't like any question that takes more than ten seconds to answer.
Gore Vidal
Image
I'm in favor of any form of sexual relationship that gives pleasure to those involved. And I have never heard a convincing argument to the contrary.
Gore Vidal
Image
Although the notion of one god may give comfort to those in need of a daddy, it reminds the rest of us that the totalitarian society is grounded upon the concept of God the father. One paternal god, one paternal leader. Authority is absolute.
Gore Vidal
Image
In Southern Europe, we have, of course, very bad governments.
Gore Vidal
Image
[Norman Mailer] is against masturbation, he's against homosexuality. He believes that murder is essentially sexual. I think he's rather an anthology of all the darkest American traits.
Gore Vidal
Image
Nonprofit status is what created the Bible Belt. The tax code brought religion back to this country.
Gore Vidal
Image
France is a nation devoted to the false hypothesis on which it then builds marvelously logical structures.
Gore Vidal
Image
Now the long-feared Asiatic colossus takes its turn as world leader, and we--the white race--have become the yellow man's burden.Let us hope that he will treat us more kindly than we treated him.
Gore Vidal
Image
We are the United States of Amnesia, we learn nothing because we remember nothing.
Gore Vidal
Image
Since nothing is free, to each his price.
Gore Vidal
Image
Always a godfather, never a god.
Gore Vidal
Image
You hear all this whining going on, Where are our great writers? The thing I might feel doleful about is: Where are the readers?
Gore Vidal
Image
A superficial education would be worse than none. But a full education would open every man's eyes to the nature of human existence.
Gore Vidal