Interethnic and spiritual accord is our strategic resource, the basis for progress of our society and state.
I always say, when they ask me about American politics, is for you guys to decide who you elect.
I want my son to grow up in a place where the people are more powerful than the government and not the other way around.
My teachers used to call me a failure
I think what happened with 911 is that people sort of felt that it came from nowhere. Whereas I think now we understand the roots are very deep. I say it's like revolutionary Communism, something that is going to have to be knocked out over a very long period of time. This strain of extremism continues to be very strong, whether it's in Afghanistan, or Somalia or Yemen, or any of these places.
I don't think there Is a way politically to beat "Insurgent Movement Of Populism".
The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.
Sometimes people close a door because they’re trying to figure out a way to get you to knock.
It's one thing to make a picture of what a person looks like, it's another thing to make a portrait of who they are.
I didn't care too much for ballet, because you had to be more disciplined, and you sort of looked like everyone else. It required a certain kind of conformity that I didn't feel like I wanted to do.
I don't know where to start," one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O' Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. Maybe your childhood was grim and horrible, but grim and horrible is Okay if it is well done. Don't worry about doing it well yet, though. Just get it down.