Patriotism is best exemplified through auto-critique.
At moments I dislike having a face, a nose, lips, because he has them.
A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
In Los Angeles all the loose objects in the country were collected, as if America had been tilted and everything that wasn't tightly screwed down had slid into Southern California.
You can spend the entire second half of your life recovering from the mistakes of the first half.
In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don't mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably the most dangerous people seek the power. While in the parlors of indignation the right-thinking citizen brings his heart to a boil. (p. 51)
Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.
I wouldn't touch a superlative again with an umbrella.
The poverty fighters resent the climate-change folks; climate folks hold summits without reference to biodiversity; the food advocates resist the biodiversity protectors. They all need to go on safari together.
Today’s decision was a victory for people all across this country whose lives will be more secure.
Surprise is not humor. I think that there can be a fine line there.