In 1844, Karl Marx said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses." He said this at a time when opium and opium derivatives were the only painkillers. And he said it helped a little. He might as well have said, "Religion is the aspirin of the people."

Writers can treat their mental illnesses every day.

Sometimes I think it is a great mistake to have matter that can think and feel. It complains so.

Homo Americanus is going to go on speaking and writing the way he always has, no matter what dictionary he owns.

During the Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any war we've ever been in - and which we lost - every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam. We were all aimed in the same direction. The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high.

About astrology and palmistry: they are good because they make people vivid and full of possibilities. They are communism at its best. Everybody has a birthday and almost everybody has a palm.

I still believe that peace and plenty and happiness can be worked out some way. I am a fool.