Thought for the Day

[bcholmes]

What seems to me a -- in a sense -- very terrifying aspect of our society, and of other societies, is the equanimity and the detachment with which sane, reasonable, sensible people can observe such events. I think that's more terrifying than the occasional Hitler or LeMay or other that crops up. These people would not be able to operate were it not for the... this apathy and equanimity. And therefore I think that it's in some sense the sane and reasonable and tolerant people who share a very serious burden of guilt that they very easily throw on the shoulders of others who seem more extreme or more violent.

— Noam Chomsky, in a 1969 interview with William F. Buckley, as shown in the documentary, Manufacturing Consent