Neil Gaiman Quotes
After a while it sort of began to rain, which is to say that it was the kind of rain that never comes to a decision about whether it's actually raining or not. Driving in it, you would never have been certain whether or not to turn on your wipers.
Gaiman, Neil, and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens. Workman Publishing, 1990.
This seemingly innocuous quotation became a cause celebre about freedom of speech and separation of church and state. Ms. Nootbaar, a brilliant, straight A student had a theme in her valedictory address of young people not being sure of their future aspirations. The audience laughed at the line and applauded her speech. However, her use of the word “hell” was considered a great sin by the school principle, David Smith. Smith refused to deliver Kaitlin’s diploma unless she apologized, which the young woman refused to do as it would be insincere and that lying would be a sin. Prague is in the middle of the “Bible Belt” where religious fundamentalists want the schools to enforce their view of acceptable behavior and using the word “hell” in that way was cursing and hence a sin. Nootbar was accepted at College anyway and the issue of her entitlement to the diploma went into the legal and political arena.
The question produced this silly answer from a brilliant man and public critic of the ultra conservatives’ racism within his own party. He didn’t dare say “Yes” for if he did, the opponents of the Republcian party would quote his answer to great advantage. However most of the racists in America identify with the Republican party. Although this was the party of Lincoln and the major force against slavery and segregation in America, in 1964 the racists of America were furious at Lyndon Johnson and the liberal Democrats for passing the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 over their opposition and filibusters. The Republicans then adopted their “Southern Strategy” and welcomed the racists into the Republican Party. In a few short years, the highly racist“Solid South” had changed from solid Democratic to solid Republican. Politically the Southern Strategy was very successful in the 20th Century, but started to hurt Republicans in National Elections by the end of that century.
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theatre, and films. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, The Graveyard Book (2008). In 2013, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards.
