Life will be wonderful when men no longer fear dying. When the last superstitions are thrown out and we meet death with the same equanimity as life. No longer will children's minds be twisted by evil gods whose fantastic origin is in those barbaric tribes who feared death and lightning, who feared life. That's it: life is the villain to to those who preach reward in death, through grace and eternal bliss, or through dark revenge.
Interpretation
Life can be beautiful when fear of death is eliminated and superstitions are discarded.
Gore Vidal's quote reflects the idea that many of humanity's fears and superstitions, particularly around death, have distorted our understanding of life. By removing these fears and approaching death with calmness, we can liberate ourselves from outdated beliefs that hinder our appreciation of life and its experiences. The insistence of various doctrines on fearing death only serves to twist human perception, showing that life can become a 'villain' when it is viewed through the lens of these beliefs about death and divine punishment or reward.
In practice
In a discussion about overcoming fears, you might use this quote to illustrate the point that fear of death can lead to a distorted view of life.
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Godliness is more easily feigned in words than in actions
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I sometimes think that I enjoy suffering. But the truth is I would prefer something else.
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There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide.
Modern biblical scholars have established that the bible is a wiki. It was compiled over half a millennium from writers with different styles, dialects, character names, and conceptions of God and was subjected to haphazard editing that left it with many contradictions, duplications and non-sequiturs.
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