Unfortunately for governments like that of Iran, when they forbid something, people become more interested.

There is little consolation in the fact that millions of people are unhappier than we are. Why should other people's misery make us happier or more content?

I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization, reductionism and superficiality.

You don't read Gatsby, I said, to learn whether adultery is good or bad but to learn about how complicated issues such as adultery and fidelity and marriage are. A great novel heightens your senses and sensitivity to the complexities of life and of individuals, and prevents you from the self-righteousness that sees morality in fixed formulas about good and evil.

The more we die, the stronger we will become

We in ancient countries have our past- we obsess over the past. They, the Americans, have a dream: they feel nostalgia about the promise of the future.

Every culture has something to be ashamed of, but every culture also has the right to change, to challenge negative traditions, and create to new ones.