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It was then that I realized that success, success not greatness, was the only god the entire world served.

— Drew Baylor · Elizabethtown

Small clay figures kneel around a gold trophy topped with a wire halo on ochre ground.
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An editorial interpretation.

A disillusioned realization that the world worships success rather than real greatness. The speaker separates the two: greatness is about quality, while success is just winning or being seen to win. Calling it a god suggests everyone bows to it, whether or not it deserves devotion.

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