At the heart of her bad nature, like many bad natures, was probably envy. And at the heart of envy was possibly hope - that the good fortune of others might one day be hers

But if writing about people who are not yourself is illegitimate, then the only legitimate work is autobiography; and as a reader and a citizen, I don’t want to live in that world.

...much of what was said did not matter, and that much of what mattered could not be said.

In any country, corruption tends to increase when more respectable means of social advancement break down.

I'm useless when I meet writers I love - I go slack-jawed and stupid with awe.

A great deal of what is presumed to be intractable or inevitable in this world doesn't strike me that way at all.

We often have an exaggerated sense of what nonprofits and governments are doing to help the poor, but the really inspiring thing is how much the poor are doing to help themselves.

One thing that was very clear to me is that the young people in a place like Annawadi aren't tripping on caste the way their parents are. They know their parents have these old views.

I think it's this congenital problem with journalism that we oversell the difference we make. We make small differences.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Never trust anyone who tells you how people come to trust them.

.. becoming attached to a country involves pressing, uncomfortable questions about justice and opportunity for its least powerful citizens.

Our mission for younger people is to do our best to make exercise cool, hip - the thing to do.

I'm playing the game because I love it. But I'm also playing it for my family. You play for the glory, but you play for your family, too.

Only you can allow yourself to be angry.

Environmentalism opposes reckless innovation and makes conservation the central order of business.

You keep a secret inside of you and it feels like a wall that separates you from others.

Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf; is better than a whole loaf.

I can understand why mankind hasn't given up war. During a war you get to drive tanks through the sides of buildings and shoot foreigners - two things that are usually frowned on during peacetime.

An opinion is not necesarily correct just because you're willing to die for it.

What I treasure most in life is being able to dream. During my most difficult moments and complex situations I have been able to dream of a more beautiful future.

Really, it is the Lord who carries the cross, for He knows how to make the soul content with little or no consolation and always to find strength in the words..."Thy will be done."