“In America, to be ID'd - sorted, tagged, and permanently filed - is to...” — Walter Kirn Quote

“In America, to be ID'd - sorted, tagged, and permanently filed - is to lose a bit of one's soul. To die a little. This sounds like a subtle, poetic notion. It's not. In American legal and cultural tradition, one essential privilege of citizenship is not having to prove it on demand.”

“The reason con artists get away with what they get away with is, their victims are ashamed of their own blindness and their own gullibility, and they tend to just quietly go away.”

“When I shoot at the range, I don't feel personally powerful but like the custodian of something powerful. I feel like a successful disciplinarian of something radically alien and potent. Analyze this sensation all you want; you still can't make it go away.”

“I have dual citizenship.”

“The social and industrial structure of America is founded upon an enlightened citizenship.”

“At its most basic the democratic contract is a simple one: the right to vote comes with a responsibility to society, through tax payments and citizenship.”