My grandfather was a general in the Nationalist Chinese Air Force during World War II, and I grew up hearing the pilot stories and seeing pictures of him in uniform.

True patriots measure themselves not by personal wealth or power but by the degree to which they contribute to the community.

The next time someone uses denial of citizenship as a weapon or brandishes the special status conferred upon him by the accident of birth, ask him this: What have you done lately to earn it?

Today's multiracial Americans are at greater liberty to choose how they'd like to be seen, and under less pressure to pass for white.

We're all better off...when we're all better off.

The Boomers have modeled a set of bad habits, and one grand gesture is not going to unwind all those bad habits.

Identity in America is complicated but it's also simple: it's about whom you identify with and who identifies with you.

As it stands now, those of us who are lucky enough to be citizens by birth don't have to do much. Very little is asked of us.

Throughout this country's history there have of course been systematic efforts to create an official underclass.

To be sure, the United States has profound problems, not least our faltering educational and physical infrastructure.

Society becomes how you behave.

Forms have changed through the centuries in obedience to the external world to which all forms belong.

When you choose a Guru you become a follower. When your Guru chooses you, you become a disciple

I don't worry about my opponent or their game, I worry about my game.

Dullness is the spice of life. Which is why we must always use other spices.

I think I have something tonight that's not quite correct for evening wear. Blue suede shoes.

If we were sensible we would seek death - the same blissful blank which we enjoyed before we existed.

Learn from the masters, learn from your contemporaries. Always try to update yourself.

After I am dead I would like people to say: 'Beuys understood the historical situation. He altered the course of events'. I hope in the right direction.

The qualities that get a man into power are not those that lead him, once established, to use power wisely.

Every movement has radicals. But the important thing is that the radicals are not the leaders.