Quote by: Kurt Vonnegut

Many years ago I was so innocent I still considered it possible that we could become the humane and reasonable America so many members of my generation used to dream of. We dreamed of such an America during the Great Depression, when there were no jobs. And then we fought and often died for that dream during the Second World War, when there was no peace. But I know now that there is not a chance in hell of America becoming humane and reasonable. Because power corrupts us, and absolute power corrupts us absolutely. Human beings are chimpanzees who get crazy drunk on power. By saying that our leaders are power-drunk chimpanzees, am I in danger of wrecking the morale of our soldiers fighting and dying in the Middle East? Their morale, like so many lifeless bodies, is already shot to pieces. They are being treated, as I never was, like toys a rich kid got for Christmas.


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Author Bio


  • NameKurt Vonnegut
  • Description20th-century American writer
  • AliasesKurt Vonnegut, Jr.
  • BornNovember 11, 1922
  • DiedApril 11, 2007
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionPlaywright; Writer; Screenwriter; Novelist; Essayist
  • WorksCat's Cradle; Slaughterhouse-Five; Breakfast Of Champions
  • AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship; Purple Heart; Humanist Of The Year