The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn't be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force others to become Puritans; in the New World, of course, they could and did.

I was brought up to believe that what is out-of-doors should stay there and not be encouraged in any way.

Class is the most difficult subject for American writers to deal with as it is the most difficult for the English to avoid.

Envy is the central fact of American life.

I assume that the point of American democracy is you can express any point of view you want.

Apparently, a democracy is a place where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates.

The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a good deal more dangerous to the polity than the people at large.