This section contains 377 words (approx. 1 page at 400 words per page) |
"The State of the Union: 1980" (1980) Summary and Analysis
As a follow-up to his earlier essay on the state of the union published in Esquire in 1975, Vidal offers this piece to clarify and expand on some of his earlier ideas. Everyone in the United States—politicians, corporations, generals—works for "the Bank" or the owners of the country, "the gilded 4.4 percent who own most of the United States and owns 27 percent of the country's real estate, 60 percent of all corporate stock." Indeed, Vidal calls the Bank "the Cosa Nostra of the 4.4 percent. The United States government is the Cosa Nostra of the Bank."
Vidal says there have been three republics in America, but a fourth is needed for the union to survive. The first republic ("a loose confederation of 13 autonomous states") began with the Revolution in 1776 and ended...
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This section contains 377 words (approx. 1 page at 400 words per page) |