Crude thoughts and fierce forces are my state. I do not know who I am. Nor what I was. I cannot hear a sound. Pain is near that will be like no pain felt before.
Norman MailerRead
At bottom, I mean profoundly at bottom, the FBI has nothing to do with Communism, it has nothing to do with catching criminals, it has nothing to do with the Mafia, the syndicate, it has nothing to do with trust-busting, it has nothing to do with interstate commerce, it has nothing to do with anything but serving as a church for the mediocre. A high church for the true mediocre.
Interpretation
The quote criticizes the FBI, suggesting it primarily serves to uphold mediocrity rather than fulfill its stated purposes.
In this quote, Norman Mailer denotes the FBI as an institution that, rather than fulfilling its intended roles such as combating crime or supporting democratic principles, has devolved into a sanctuary for mediocrity. By comparing the FBI to a 'church for the mediocre,' Mailer implies that it has become a place where mediocrity is celebrated and perpetuated, detracting from its responsibility to pursue justice and uphold the law.
In practice
This quote could be used in a discussion about the effectiveness of government agencies.
Crude thoughts and fierce forces are my state. I do not know who I am. Nor what I was. I cannot hear a sound. Pain is near that will be like no pain felt before.
I no longer gave a sick dog's drop for the wisdom, the reliability and the authority of the public's literary mind, those creeps and old ladies of vested reviewing.
There's nothing glorious about being a professional. . . . Professionalism probably comes down to being able to work on a bad day.
The natural role of twentieth-century man is anxiety.
Over-certified adjectives are the mark of most best-seller writing
Alimony is the curse of the writing class.
The main character of any living system is openness.
When we die, these are the stories still on our lips. The stories we’ll only tell strangers, someplace private in the padded cell of midnight. These important stories, we rehearse them for years in our head but never tell. These stories are ghosts, bringing people back from the dead. Just for a moment. For a visit. Every story is a ghost.
Everything that depends on the action of nature is by nature as good as it can be.
Think how different human societies would be if they were based on love rather than justice. But no such societies have ever existed on earth.
Our sadness won’t be of the searing kind but more like a blend of joy and melancholy: joy at the perfection we see before us, melancholy at an awareness of how seldom we are sufficiently blessed to encounter anything of its kind. The flawless object throws into perspective the mediocrity that surrounds it. We are reminded of the way we would wish things always to be and of how incomplete our lives remain.
Unite liberality with a just frugality; always reserve something for the hand of charity; and never let your door be closed to the voice of suffering humanity.
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