“So-called urban music, in particular, has become little more than a cult of social deviance”
Nation of Rebels, p. 322.
An Incongruity Barely Visible
“Man, this guy was good. But Rourke had been on the force for many years, and he was just as good. Rourke tightened the muscles in his jaw. That man across the table is telling the truth for now, just this moment. But he is a liar telling the truth, and it almost suits him”
Whooda Thunk?
“The whole idea that virtuous self-restraint on the part of corporations, or energy conservation on the part of consumers, must be a part of any solution to the problems of pollution is based on a fundamental confusion. The fact that we are always being urged to conserve energy is simply a sign that the price is too low. After all, the government doesn’t have to remind us to conserve coffee beans or molybdenum or wiper fluid or any of the other goods that we consume every day. Why not? Because when we consume these goods, the price that we pay reflects pretty much the entire cost that our consumption imposes upon society. In other words, when the price level is right, there is no need to encourage conservation.”
Nation of Rebels, p. 316
Different Approaches to Parental Authority
“‘That’ll take some getting used to on my part. In my church back home, if I had ever called Pastor Hill Bruce, my mother would have found the dullest butter knife in her drawer and skinned me with it. Then she would have had the knife mounted as a trophy. No remorse on her part at all’”.
There Are People Who Hide Their Privilege Instead of Checking It
“The proper name for a technology that is available only to the few is not ‘appropriate,’ but ‘privileged.’”
Nation of Rebels, p. 298
As In, Plush
“They walked across about half an acre of carpet that you could lose a croquet ball in, came to another set of glass doors, and went through those.”
Why Cool Doesn’t Fit on the Assembly Line
“What eventually led to the undoing of these views was the failure to appreciate the competitive nature of our consumption and the significance of positional goods. Houses in good neighborhoods, tasteful furniture, fast cars, stylish restaurants and cool clothes are intrinsically scarce. We cannot manufacture more of them because their value is based on the distinction that they provide to consumers. Thus the idea of overcoming scarcity through increased productivity is incoherent; in our society, scarcity is a social, not a material, phenomenon.”
Nation of Rebels, p. 294
Developed in the Cellars of Isengard
“The landscaped slopes on either side of the broad steps were covered with junipers, which Rourke had long considered to be the orcs of the plant kingdom. The automatic sprinklers on a timer were busily spritzing them, which just made them wet, botanical orcs.”
Not Mindless Adapters
“The notion that we are all brainwashed by technology is, of course, just the standard critique of mass society dressed up in different clothes . . . [but] we aren’t unconscious, we aren’t brainwashed and we aren’t sleepwalking.”
Nation of Rebels, pp. 291-292
Panic All the Way Down
“But this was panic on stilts and steroids. This was a prison riot. The noise from that isolated chamber down below few more insistent. A metal cup raked across the bars. Guards! And somewhere farther up, unseen clammy hands were industriously attaching a nylon strap and winch around the upper portion of Chad’s chest and ratcheting it tight”