Ali

“Rules, conventions, morals, reality itself: all exist so long as their existence is convenient to the preservation of power. Otherwise, they, like all else, are expendable.”
― Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

“In times like these, one remarkable difference between the modern Western conservative and their liberal counterpart is that the former will gleefully sign their name on the side of the bomb while the latter will just sheepishly initial it.”
― Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This

“But when the bad day in your week finally arrives—and it comes to all—by which I mean, that particular moment when your sufferings, as puny as they may be in the wider scheme of things, direct themselves absolutely and only to you, as if precisely designed to destroy you and only you, at that point it might be worth allowing yourself the admission of the reality of suffering, if not for yourself, exactly, then in preparation for that next painful bout of videoconferencing, so that you don’t roll your eyes or laugh or puke while listening to what some other person seems to think is pain.”
― Zadie Smith, Intimations

“This visit is a bit of the same, and the same feels precious and fleeting.”
― Delia Ephron, Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life