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Pain is of no consequence in a gladiatorial gym; neither is blood or bruises, broken noses or concussions, unconsciousness, or even, now and then—death.
Almost everything you know or ever hear is a lie. Advertisements, politicians’ promises, children’s claims of accomplishments and innocence . . . your own memory. Most of us know it’s so but still cannot live our lives according to this solitary truth. We have to believe in something every moment of our lives. Losing this illusion invites insanity.
“People often react to fears that are in their minds and not the real world around them. They are reacting to the ways that they were raised, and maybe . . . abused.”
the best way to talk to young people is on the tiny screen. They remember, save, and pay closest attention to the texts of their lives. That’s how they stay connected, coincidentally avoiding the overexcitement and the inherent inaccuracies of aural memory.
Getting in the way of a child’s imagination will almost always take more time than it’s worth.
Revolution is fought on every street corner of every city, town, and hamlet in the world, my poor besotted father used to rant. The only true power that the authorities have is the people’s belief in that power.
Baltimore has a large black population, souls who have been there for generations, and who have not yet received the notice of a postracial America.
son—you have to remember that when it comes to love, men are less experienced than women—much less. If a woman falls in love she knows just where she is. Her mind as well as her body comes into bloom. When a woman feels love it’s like a great mind opening, like Karl Marx when he first understood capital. When men fall in love, we just turn stupid. A man in love is a man operating without the benefit of history. He thinks that today is different from every other day, that the woman he’s lookin’ at is different, fundamentally, from all other women. Love will beat you down worse than any bull or
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