Gore Vidal

229 QUOTES

American novelist, playwright, and essayist of the mid-20th century, Vidal was a sharp critic of American politics and culture, blending wit and biting satire in his work. His novels and plays, like *Julian* and *Myra Breckinridge*, often explored power, sexuality, and the decline of traditional values. He also left a lasting mark as a public intellectual, known for his polemical essays and television appearances.

“What I like least about myself is my belligerence.”

REFLECTIONS

“In writing and politicking, it's best not to think about it, just do it.”

WRITING

“Since we have literally targeted our enemies, the Pentagon assumes that, sooner or later, rogues will take out our cities, presumably from spaceships.”

REFLECTIONS

“Presidents have absolutely gone against the will of Congress. Congress hasn't declared a war since December 7, 1941, and yet we've been at war ever since with somebody or other in order to justify the war machine. Now we have alienated almost the entire earth”

WAR EARTH ORDER

“A narcissist is someone better looking than you are.”

ENVY

“In character, as it were, the writer settles for an impression of what happened rather than creating the sense of the thing happening.”

WRITING

“To invent a war means that you've become a wartime president, and you can suspend much if not all of the Bill of Rights.”

WAR

“Today's public figures can no longer write their own speeches or books, and there is some evidence that they can't read them either.”

BOOKS

“Americans, in general, are ignorant, bigoted, and deeply unhappy with their declining incomes.”

REFLECTIONS