In America Nothing Dies Easier Than Tradition.

Inanimate Objects Can Be Classified Scientifically Into Three Major Categories: Those That Don't Work, Those That Break Down And Those That Get Lost.

We Honor Ambition, We Reward Greed, We Celebrate Materialism, We Worship Acquisitiveness, We Commercialize Art, We Cherish Success And Then We Bark At The Young About The Gentle Arts Of The Spirit. The Kids Know That If We Really Valued Learning, We Would Pay Our Teachers What We Pay Our Lawyers And Stockbrokers. If We Valued Art, We Would Not Measure It By Its Capacity To Produce Profits. If We Regarded Literature As Important, We Would Remove It From The Celebrity Sweepstakes And Spend A Little Money On Our Libraries.

The Old Notion That Brevity Is The Essence Of Wit Has Succumbed To The Modern Idea That Tedium Is The Essence Of Quality.

Roosevelt's Declaration That Americans Had 'nothing To Fear But Fear Itself' Was A Glorious Piece Of Inspirational Rhetoric And Just As Gloriously Wrong.

Television Was The Most Revolutionary Event Of The Century. Its Importance Was In A Class With The Discovery Of Gunpowder And The Invention Of The Printing Press, Which Changed The Human Condition For Centuries Afterward.