We tend to think of the problems of globalization and cultural identity as peculiar to our times. In fact they are rooted in ancient problems of civic belonging.

Friendship requires a leap, not of faith but of regard.

Ambition is ever tempered by experience. Otherwise, fortune makes fools of us all.

War is smaller in scale than in recent memory, but it is far more ambiguous, intractable, and nasty. Money flows more quickly than ever, but it is still somehow manages to gather and puddle in certain places, for certain people rather then others.

If anyone is tweeting right now, I'm not pulling a knife on David Cronenberg!

Tyranny is abhorrent, freedom benefits all, whereas violence benefits no one for long.

Dreams are evidence that we are creatures who produce more meaning than we can ourselves understand.