I tried to think about other things. I tried to invent optimistic inventions. But the pessimistic ones were extremely loud.
Jonathan Safran FoerAnd also, there are so many times when you need to make a quick escape, but humans don't have their own wings, or not yet, anyway, so what about a birdseed shirt?
Jonathan Safran FoerIn America right now, we use words like 'smart' to talk about bombs. American rhetoric is grounded in ideas of capital-G Good, capital-E Evil, and it's very clear who is on which side. But in a book you can do just the opposite. You can use all lower-case words.
Jonathan Safran FoerJust to be a functioning adult in the world, we develop all of these layers of protection. When we see homeless people, we don't cry, even though homeless people probably deserve our tears - you know, it's a horrible thing.
Jonathan Safran Foer