Do not trust those in whom the compulsion to punish is strong.
Unfortunately, little attention was paid to how Arafat ruled. In fact, some saw the harsh and repressive nature of Arafat's regime as actually bolstering the prospects for peace.
Free nations generally look for ways to deal with dictators amicably.
If you have to fight an enemy at a critical point in time, and you have an ally who happens to be a dictator, you don't say: Let's stop fighting right now, because you're not a democrat. That would be ridiculous.
Non-democratic regimes always need to mobilize their people against external enemies in order to maintain internal stability.
Believe me, the drug of freedom is universally potent.
It is important to remember that some of the most serious thinkers once thought that democracy was not compatible with the cultures of Germany, Italy, Japan, Latin America and Russia.
I never quite understand the way society decides who is beautiful and who is not. But an open face and a capacity for kindness always feel like reliable signifiers to me.
There are many ways of understanding simple things, but generally the opposite is true for difficult ideas
I actually fell asleep during one take with Jeffrey Wright because I relaxed myself so much. I just stayed so still that I just nodded off, and kind of snapped back into it in the middle of the scene.
Give the devil his due.