A short history of american culture
"I had this notion there's a covered wagon train that's crossing the country, and the Indians start — naturally they're supposed to attack, right? So they whip up the horses like mad and then they start throwing things overboard. One of the things they threw overboard was the old grandfather clock which deprives us of time and history. Then they threw over Shakespeare and out goes literature. If they had a spinet, they would throw that out, and then crockery and the kitchen arts are out. And finally as the Indians get closer, they throw grandma overboard. Perhaps there's a pack of wolves riding along with the Indians. So family history is lost. And we all arrive in California and eat hamburgers the rest of our lives and watch the Indians attacking the wagon trains."
- thomas mcgrath
