Resisting the powers that be, we are keeping things from getting worse than they otherwise might be. And that effort is very much worthwhile.

Some people never see the light Till it shines thru bullet holes.

Though chains be of gold, they are chains all the same.

The people who have impressed me most - and the closest I've come to having heroes - are the people who have devoted their lives to making things better for others. These are people whose names you never hear, people who work for Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and other humanitarian groups. They're just out there in the world, doing stuff.

But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight / Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight.

Everything that makes a society run is broken in Iraq. The only real structure is the people's own sense of themselves as Iraqis, which was very strong. They're a proud people, and they trace their historic roots way, way back.

Once you tie anger and ego together then you're a monster, at least a latent one. So you have to be able to separate those things before you are going to be able to do anything useful with your anger.