Kurt Vonnegut — Quote from A Man Without a Country “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” A Man Without a Country (2005) Concepts: conformity, totalitarianism, rebellion Resonant Quotes“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convi...” — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Vonnegut's quip crystallizes Arendt's deeper insight about how intellectual and moral mediocrity, rather than ideolog...“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” — George Orwell, Animal Farm Both authors expose the gap between democratic ideals and the reality of mediocre or corrupt leadership, using irony ...“Ideology is a specious way of relating to the world. It offers human beings t...” — Václav Havel, The Power of the Powerless Havel's critique of ideology as offering false dignity while enabling moral abdication explains exactly how Vonnegut'...“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convi...” — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism Both identify the terrifying ordinariness of those who enable authoritarianism—Arendt's confused masses and Vonnegut'...“Believing and devouring — a peculiarly German process.” — Günter Grass, The Tin Drum Both authors diagnose the terrifying consequences of mindless conformity and intellectual mediocrity wielding politic...“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respect...” — George Orwell, Politics and the English Language Both quotes expose the disturbing gap between the rhetoric of democratic governance and its actual practice by reveal...