The reason this system canโt be overthrown in this country,โ Walter said, โis all about freedom. The reason the free market in Europe is tempered by socialism is that theyโre not so hung up on personal liberties there. They also have lower population growth rates, despite comparable income levels. The Europans are all-around more rational, basically. And the conversation about rights in this country isnโt rational. Itโs taking place on the level of emotion, and class resentments, which is why the right is so good at exploiting it.
Jonathan FranzenIf you're interested in how people behave, if you're interested in the way they talk about themselves, the way the conceive of themselves, it's very hard to ignore drugs nowadays, because that is so much part of the conversation.
Jonathan FranzenBeing dead's only a problem if you know you're dead, which you never do because you're dead!
Jonathan FranzenWhen you stay in your room and rage or sneer or shrug your shoulders, as I did for many years, the world and its problems are impossibly daunting. But when you go out and put yourself in real relation to real people, or even just real animals, thereโs a very real danger that you might end up loving some of them. And who knows what might happen to you then?
Jonathan Franzen