Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life.
I wake the dead. I bring Jackie Robinson and the Roosevelts to life. Who do you think Im trying to wake up?
The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution to the arts.
Do something that will last and be beautiful. It doesn't have to be a bridge-or a symphony or book or a business. It could be the look in the eye of a child you raise or a simple garden you tend. Do something that will last and be beautiful.
It is the great arrogance of the present to forget the intelligence of the past
I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what we're lead to is a life not fully lived. Cynicism is fear, and it's worse than fear - it's an active disengagement.
History isn't really about the past - settling old scores. It's about defining the present and who we are.
Some people say I have issues. I say those people need to expand their horizons because I don't have issues, I have the Library of Congress
Open the door by yourself instead of waiting the door to be opened by itself!
The skills and productivity of American Workers, not to mention the taxes they pay, are the greatest economic resource our country has. To condemn large numbers of them to unemployment, to deprive the Treasury of their tax contributions and to force them to live on unemployment at public expense is the most expensive luxury any society ever chose to buy.
I don't want to know what people are doing. Like, I don't need to know who's got a new music video and who's got a new lipstick.