“The state — or, to make matters more concrete, the government — consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office. Their principal device to that end is to search out groups who pant and pine for something they can’t get, and to promise to give it to them. Nine times out of ten that promise is worth nothing. The tenth time it is made good by looting ‘A’ to satisfy ‘B’. In other words, government is a broker in pillage, and every election is a sort of advanced auction on stolen goods.”
―
―
“The most erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.”
―
―
“We accept the love we think we deserve.”
― The Perks of Being a Wallflower
― The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
― I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Mert’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Mert’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Mert
Lists liked by Mert





















