Compassion is an unstable emotion. It needs to be translated into action, or it withers. The question of what to do with the feelings that have been aroused, the knowledge that has been communicated. If one feels that there is nothing 'we' can do -- but who is that 'we'? -- and nothing 'they' can do either -- and who are 'they' -- then one starts to get bored, cynical, apathetic.

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Ellen Lee accused Sontag of plagiarism when Lee discovered at least twelve passages in In America that were similar to or copied from passages in four other books about Helena Modjeska without attribution. The last two novels were set in the past which Sontag said gave her greater freedom to write in the polyphonic voice. She elevated Camp to the status of recognition with her widely-read 1964 essay Notes on 'Camp' which accepted Art as including common absurd and burlesque themes.

". Sontag was active in writing and speaking about or travelling to areas of conflict including during the Vietnam War and the Siege of Sarajevo. Beginning with the publication of her 1964 essay "Notes on 'Camp'" Sontag became an international cultural and intellectual celebrity.