Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.
You can always debate about what you should have done. The question is what are you going to do?
We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice - however much we might desire it.
What we need are critical lovers of America - patriots who express their faith in their country by working to improve it.
If I believe in something, I will fight for it, with all I have. But I do not demand all or nothing. I would rather get something than nothing.
The good old days were never that good, believe me. The good new days are today, and better days are coming tomorrow. Our greatest songs are still unsung.
I believe that each of us can make a difference. That what is wrong can be made right. That people possess the basic wisdom and goodness to govern themselves without conflict.
If I survive, I will spend my whole life at the oven door seeing that no one is denied bread and, so as to give a lesson of charity, especially those who did not bring flour.
When you see a finished film, it's very rare that it exceeds your expectations.
Goodnight you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.
Even if it's a definition that feels oppressive to us, that oppression can be inspiring because it helps us push up against something while we're writing. Or if it's a definition that we want to defend and uphold, we are given a sense of the boundaries within which we can work.