You treat violence as an aberration ... when in truth it is the norm. It is the very essence of the human condition.

As for the depiction of the Catholic church, it's not meant to be a prediction

It occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another.

The Great Change is when humankind accepts its role as part of the natural order of the universe instead of its role as a cancer

Words are the only bullets in truth's bandolier. And poets are the snipers.

If everyone could understand the working of a psychopath's mind, we undoubtedly would be closer to insanity ourselves.

Nobody gets beyond a petroleum economy. Not while there's petroleum there.

Seduction... was both a science and art - a blend of skill, discipline, proximity, and opportunity. Mostly proximity.

Poets are the mad midwives to reality. They see not what is, nor what can be, but what must become.

History viewed from the inside is always a dark, digestive mess, far different from the easily recognizable cow viewed from afar by historians.

The shortest route to courage is absolute ignorance.

The best way to get a good idea is to have a lot of ideas

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. And if you do have to say it, make it really funny so I can screenshot it and save it for later.

Never," said my aunt, "be mean in anything; never be false; never be cruel. Avoid those three vices, Trot, and I can always be hopeful of you.

When I make the effort to pay attention to the sights, sounds and sensations around me, I’m encouraging myself to live in the present moment.

Self-government can succeed only through an instructed electorate.

Do not undervalue the headache. While it is at its sharpest it seems a bad investment; but when relief begins, the unexpired remainder is worth $4 a minute.

I've never done Something Rotten either.

Too many policies, programs and institutions are judged by what they are supposed to do, rather than by what they actually do and the consequences of their actions.

She was drowning-in friendliness, in community-and she was starting to think she didn't want to get pulled out.

Give me your four year olds, and in a generation I will build a socialist state.