Democracy doesn't require a whole lot of work of its citizens, but it requires some: It requires taking a good look outside once in a while, and considering the bad news and what it might mean, and making the occasional tough choice, and soberly taking stock of what your real interests are.

I think that if you're a thinking person you should always be trying to learn something new.

Candidates don’t want to be associated with poor people, people who have jobs or are ugly; they want to be associated with a certain middle class demographic, so as a result they leave those others out completely.

There is a reason it used to be a crime in the Confederate states to teach a slave to read: Literacy is power.

If you look back in history, as the barbarians were invading the gates of Rome, people were consulting fortunetellers and worrying about the end of the world and all sorts of other apocalyptic notions. When the tsars were finally overthrown, they were all reading tarot cards even as the revolutionaries were banging at the gates.

Since the end of the Cold War, America has been grasping left and right for an identity.

One loves one's country the way one loves a family member. And sometimes that family member does really embarrassing, shitty things. But you still love them.