Kate

“It was puzzling to me that not once did the ultra-wealthy I spoke with wax romantic about the working poor in the large city where they had once worked or lived. The working poor in New York City or Houston were one thing, but the working poor in Teton County were another – even though members of both communities share a struggle to keep their heads above water, facing low wages, high rents, and dim prospects overall for scaling the socioeconomic pyramid. Why was one romanticized as a paradigm of virtue and happiness, and the other not? The difference, it turns out, is that the working poor in Teton County have become a vehicle for escapism for the ultra-wealthy, in large part because their struggle takes place in a locale that is geographically remote and environmentally exotic.”
― Justin Farrell, Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West

“Longtime rural farmers and ranchers are used to people coming into their living rooms to tell them what they should do with their land. They tend to be very polite and patient. Insurance brokers, government agents, zoning administrators, and now conservationists all have ideas to which generations of ranchers have listened.”
― Story Clark, A Field Guide to Conservation Finance

“What news do political junkies demand? Outrage and gossip. Why? Because it’s alluring. What news do we avoid? Local news. Why? It’s boring. What do we think of our partisan opponents? We hate them. Do we really hate them? No, but politics is more fun if we root for a team and spew anger at the other side. It’s easier to hate and dismiss the other side than to empathize and connect to them. When do we vote? When there’s a spectacle. When do we click? When politics can be a frivolous distraction. When do we donate? When there’ a cocktail party or a viral video. What are we doing? We’re taking actions not to empower our political values, but to satisfy our passion for the sport of politics.”
― Eitan Hersh

“In the military, the phenomenon of the outsider coming in, commenting with profound wisdom but little insight, is called a GOBI - a General Officer, Bright Idea. This is a way that soldiers make fun of generals and other high-ranking officials who walk into a situation and pontificate, like, "We really should fix this," as if nobody has ever thought of that idea. Brilliant. We should really fix this.”
― Juliette Kayyem, The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters