We really are 15 countries, and it's remarkable that each of us thinks we represent the real America. The Midwesterner in Kansas, the black American in Durham - both are certain they are the real American.

There is something more - the spirit, or the soul. I think that that quality encourages our courtesy and care and our minds. And mercy, and identity.

Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.

No one has ever become poor from giving.

Be the rainbow in someone else's cloud.

I think we have systematically and critically harmed ourselves and many young people by advising them not to try things.

If our children are to approve of themselves, they must see that we approve of ourselves.