There has never been evidence that people from these [banned] countries are disproportionately likely to commit terrorist acts. We have sent chaos to the airports. We have offended the world. We have derailed the administration. We have done it in such an incompetent way, the administration has, that people with perfectly legal residence have been widely inconvenienced.
David BrooksTrump has picked the more extreme versions of all Republicans so far, the more aggressive. And I think the thing to watch out for is, I could totally paint a scenario where Trump runs an authoritarian regime. I can totally paint a scenario where he has no control over his own government.
David BrooksTo explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy.
David BrooksWhen your institution is under threat, you feel you have a lot of hostility, you feel things are slipping away, you have got internal problems, there's a tendency to turn inward and to focus on yourselves.
David BrooksIf you're a soldier or marine in an Arab country, Islam is the solution. And you need to show respect.
David BrooksStairway to Wisdomโ) David Brooks detailed the needed ingredients to gaining a deep understanding of a social problem, beginning with the data and moving on to first-hand accounts. The highest rung on his stairway, though, went beyond those: โEmpathy opens you up to absorb the good and the bad. Love impels you not just to observe but to seek unionโto think as another thinks and feel as another feels.
David BrooksIf you do have to look at polls, you should do it no more than once every few days, to get a general sense of the state of the race. I've seen the work on information overload, which makes people depressed, stressed and freezes their brains. I know that checking the polls constantly is a recipe for self-deception and anxiety.
David Brooks