The civilization in between

“I found America the friendliest, most forgiving, and most generous nation I had ever visited. We South Americans tend to think of things in terms of convenience, whereas people in the United States approach things ethically.This – amateur Protestant that I am – I admired above all. It even helped me overlook skyscrapers, paper bags, television, plastics, and the unholy jungle of gadgets.”
Jorge Luis Borges, ca. 1970


“America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without knowing civilization.”
Unnamed French journalist, 1932
(also attributed to: Georges Clemenceau, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Winston Churchill)