Norman Mailer, the greatest literary conscience of our time, passed away this morning.

Here he is in one of his most dynamic interviews:

Norman Mailer on democracy:

Democracy is a grace. Democracy is something essentially splendid because it's not at all routine or automatic. Democracy in fact depends on the concept, the notion that there are more people who are good than bad. And that's a very large notion.

Norman Mailer on the right wing

And the right wing -- the right wing which is perfectly willing for the most part to give up the joys of intelligence, to give up the joys of free thinking, the joys of following your thoughts to where it leads.

Here's the entire interview, where Norman talks about Iraq, Neo Cons, violence, and existential fear. Courtesy of Fora TV.