Dictators fall when they're overconfident; they stay in power when they're paranoid.
Masha GessenRead
... fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there-because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie. The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don't think it should exist.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Masha Gessen argues that the fight for gay marriage involves a misconception about the state of marriage, suggesting it should evolve beyond its traditional definition.
In this quote, Masha Gessen highlights the inherent contradictions in the fight for gay marriage. They point out that advocates often claim that the institution of marriage will not change with the inclusion of same-sex couples, which they argue is not true. Gessen believes that marriage, as it currently exists, should undergo transformation to reflect modern values and realities, implying that the fight for gay marriage is not merely about inclusion, but about rethinking what marriage should represent in society.
Themes
MarriageGay MarriageChangeInstitutionRelationships
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the evolution of societal norms regarding relationships.
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Any country is either becoming more democratic or less democratic. I think the United States hasn't tended to its journey toward democracy in a long time.
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