No doubt unity is something to be desired, to be striven for, but it cannot be willed into being by mere declarations.

No heirloom of humankind captures the past as do art and language.

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. By what conduit do we know what we know?

I am determined to give the Yiddish language a fighting chance to survive.

I have always striven to raise the voice of hope for a world where hate gives way to respect and oppression to liberation.

By showing hunger, deprivation, starvation and brutality, as well as endurance and nobility, documentaries inform, prod our memories, even stir us to action. Such films do battle for our very soul.

I prefer to make common cause with those whose weapons are guitars, banjos, fiddles and words.

All too often arrogance accompanies strength, and we must never assume that justice is on the side of the strong. The use of power must always be accompanied by moral choice.

But there is a difference here: When Jewish children are murdered, Arabs celebrate the deed. The death of an Arab child is no cause for celebration in Israel.

After the advent of the written word, the masses who could not - or were not permitted to - read, were given sermons by the few who could.

I am filled with awe that filmmakers have the capacity to stir us and give us back a sense of wonder.

People with no human values are worse than zombies.

Where our attention goes, our mind and body go, too.

Stop being self-conscious when you write.You are the expert about the world you are creating, no one else. So be bold and write on.

Health lies in labor and there is no royal road to it but through toil.

CURTAIN CALLThe world is our stage and the final act can highlight or ruin a beautiful play

The freedom of thought and expression is one of the most sacred rights in this country.

A crown should not sit easy on the head.

Making the documentary was an extraordinary experience and it really hit home to me the quasi-religious nature of this anthropogenic global warming cause. These people really have found religion.

I work out, I go to pilates, I walk and I eat everything I can get my hands on.

Many people love my music. Many do not understand it. In general my music is more easily understood by younger people in Mali, and by people outside Africa.