The infosphere [the internet] is making a true public life harder to achieve. We live in a Library of Babel, isolated in out separate rooms, poring over information culled from sources that reinforce our prejudices and never challenge our basic assumptions.

In deutsch: Die Infosphere [das Internet] macht ein wahres öffentliches Leben schwerer umzusetzen. Wir leben in einer Bibliothek von Babel, isoliert in unseren separaten Räumen, auf Informationen schauend, die wir aus Quellen ziehen, die unsere Vorurteile bestätigen und niemals unsere zugrunde liegenden Annahmen in Frage stellen.

Jacinda experienced a moment of exquisite pain. The kind of pain that comes when one realizes the truth. She realized that she loved Keelan, and that he was worthy of that love, and she realized that no matter what she said, her mother would never understand it. The fact that Jacinda herself didn't really know why she loved Keelan didn't make this realization any less painful. This was an understanding that her mother's approval was conditional, even if her love was not. And like every child, Jacinda resented her parent for this withholding of approval. For above all, what every child craves from their parents is not love – that is expected, and normal, and right – what every child wants, in the depths of their soul, is the commendation of their parents.