Florence King Quotes About Democracy

Quotes about: Democracy

• To me, elitism means a love of excellence and superiority, but America has declared war on both and developed a sick love of the lowest common denominator to make sure no-one becomes too fine for our touted democracy. We are almost at the point of regarding every virtue as elitist.

  Florence King

  War, Mean, America

• America is not a democracy, it's an absolute monarchy ruled by King Kid. In a nation of immigrants, the child is automatically more of an American than his parents. Americans regard children as what Mr. Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs called betters. Aping their betters, American adults do their best to turn themselves into children. Puerility exercises droit de seigneur everywhere.

  Florence King

  Kings, Children, Kids

  Florence King (1990). “Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye”, p.30, St. Martin's Griffin

• Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

  Florence King

  Democracy, Leafs, Figs

  Florence King (1990). “Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye”, p.97, Macmillan

• By sending the contradictory message that the famous are just plain folks on Mount Olympus, America has forged a relentless tension between loftiness and accessibility. Stir in the fact that the inborn talent and intelligence needed to achieve fame are immune to distributive tinkering by government programs and you have a definition of fame certain to produce envious rage: somebody screwed democracy.

  Florence King

  Equality, America, Government

• As the only class distinction available in a democracy, the college degree has created a caste society as rigid as ancient India's. Condemning elitism and simultaneously quaking in fear that our children won't become members of the elite, we send them to college, not to learn, but to "be" college graduates, rationalizing our snobbery with the cliché that high technology has eliminated the need for the manual labor that we secretly hold in contempt.

  Florence King

  Education, Children, Technology

  Florence King (1991). “Lump It Or Leave It”, p.77, Macmillan

• Chinks in America's egalitarian armor are not hard to find. Democracy is the fig leaf of elitism.

  Florence King

  Women, Egalitarianism, America

  Florence King (1990). “Reflections In A Jaundiced Eye”, p.97, Macmillan

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