5
" Cormac heard that glorious word for the first time in the1850s, and it came to epitomize for him all of New York's rough skepticism. It had much greater weight than the word 'horseshit.' Horseshit was flaky and without substance; it dried in the sun and was blown away in a high wind. Preachers were the master of horseshit. But bullshit was heavier, filled with crude truth, a kind of black cement. The voters knew the difference and they appreciated bullshit when practiced by a master. Any politician who used God in a speech was practicing horseshit. When he talked about building schools, getting water into Chatham Square, or lighting the darkest streets, Bill Tweed was practicing bullshit. If a third of the bullshit actually came into existence, their lives were made better. Tweed, as he moved up in the system, was a master of bullshit. "
― Pete Hamill , Forever
7
" Aye, they are noble. Noble bastards, they are. How did it begin? And how will it end? I’ll tell you how. The story’s in the history books, if you know how to read them’ [...] ‘Together, they stole from weaker people and then used the money to create armed theater. That’s what is was, lad. That’s what it is! Armed theater! Castles and music and fine robes and crowns and jewels-- it’s all theater. Acting! Performing! And all of it made possible by the use of swords nad muskets and cannon, and driven by jealousy and theft! [...] They bow down to the Great Actor, the King Himself, [...] The kings sneer at them for being fools, and with all that stolen money, they build armies and fleets and export their skills at robbery to the entire world! That’s how it all began, lad. A few cynical actors who fooled entire nations!’
‘And how will it end?’
‘If there’s a God in Heaven,’ he said, ‘it will end at the gallows.’
He sighed.
‘Any civilized man must be against homicide,’ he said ‘But negicide seems a most admirable crime "
― Pete Hamill , Forever
