Gore Vidal, age 80, suggests it will take 3-4 generations to fix * mess

[Caoimhe]

About 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, the crowd at the Wordstock book festival started tipping to the left side of the Oregon Convention Center. The aisles that had been full of browsers emptied, the lines at Starbucks disappeared, and everyone moved toward the Borders Stage at the far end of the exhibition hall, next to the C-SPAN Book TV bus.

<snip>

(Gore) Vidal was Wordstock's cleanup hitter, the big name who made everyone stick around until the end of the two-day event. By the time Johnson got through talking about how she collects newspaper stories involving "bus plunges," most of the 560 seats in front of her were full. When the 80-year-old Vidal was helped to his seat by two men, at least 500 more people were standing more than 10 deep around the stage. The crowd for Vidal was the largest of the two-day event, much bigger than the audience for Joyce Carol Oates and Dave Eggers, the most popular first-day authors.

<snip>

"It will take three or four generations to undo what's been done in the last 12 years," he said. "It's quite a wreck." Asked later how that might be accomplished, he said a more responsible media would be a good start but added that "we have to put back together a republic that's been carefully torn apart."

The rest of the story: http://www.oregonlive.com/search/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1145845520125700.xml?oregonian?albs&coll=7

I am just now discovering Gore Vidal and I am so sorry I missed this event! Let's toast to him living a long life and writing much more!

[deutsey]

1. I said that back in 2000

I knew then that any damage Bush did would take generations to fix.

Lucky me. Right again. :evilfrown:

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Stop that!

Could you be wrong once in awhile? Please!? ;)

[deutsey]

5. Oh, I wish...it's such a terrible burden...

:evilgrin:

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. I agree. It will take three Democratic Presidents, two terms each to fix

** mess, at least.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. I can't argue with his conclusion.

I do think my great-great-grandchildren will be shouldering the burden of the Republican "agenda." It goes beyond that though. Our progeny will long be coping with the fallout of the past 150 year rape of the planet in the name of an oil based economy.

[Caoimhe]

4. He is right about it being CAREFULLY destroyed

it's been planned this way and we all know it

[katty]

6. if anyone knows, it's Gore...glad he's still around

[Caoimhe]

9. I am almost done with Burr and have Lincoln on board

I've been told that I need to read the "American Chronicles" in this order with the years in time they are based, even though they weren't actually written in this order:

Burr (1775-1840)
Lincoln (1861-1865)
1876 (1875-1877)
Empire (1898-1906)
Hollywood (1917-1923)
Washington, D.C. (1937-1952)
The Golden Age (1939-2000)

I would love more input from any of you who are fans of Gore Vidal!

[pnorman]

7. I hope you've read his historical novels.

If not, start with Burr, and then go to Lincoln, and then 1776. I somehow got bogged down on other one, The Golden Age, and I can't really recommend it. But give it a try if you have time and opportunity.

pnorman

[Caoimhe]

10. I should have refreshed

See my post above