Had I not yoyoed away my time in school reading Herodotus, Saint-Simon, Rilke, and Owen Wister, seeking answers to the mystery of personality and the riddle of history, I would not have failed to become an intelligent and informed buyer of goods and services. It’s as simple as that.
“People don’t have any mercy. They tear you limb from limb, in the name of love. Then, when you’re dead, when they’ve killed you by what they made you go through, they say you didn’t have any character. They weep big, bitter tears — not for you. For themselves, because they’ve lost their toy.”
James Baldwin | Another Country