If we aren't willing to pay a price for our values, then we should ask ourselves whether we truly believe in them at all.

He described to me how crocodiles kill more people than sharks. There are just a lot of things in Australia that can kill you.

In the wake of 9/11, my meetings with Arab and Pakistani Americans, for example, have a more urgent quality, for the stories of detentions and FBI questioning and hard stares from neighbors have shaken their sense of security and belonging. They have been reminded that the history of immigration in this country has a dark underbelly; they need specific reassurances that their citizenship really means something, that America has learned the right lessons from the Japanese internments during World War II, and that I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

We have to uphold a free press and freedom of speech - because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth.

We're not going to put the cart before the horse and just think by sending more troops, we're automatically going to make Americans safe.

You know, it's fashionable right now for people to be cynical. We go in cycles like this and right now a lot of people are saying, 'Oh, America is doing terribly' and 'What are we going to do?'

I learned to slip back and forth between my black and white worlds. One of those tricks I had learned: People were satisfied so long as you were courteous and smiled and made no sudden moves. They were more than satisfied; they were relieved -- such a pleasant surprise to find a well-mannered young black man who didn't seem angry all the time.