Racism is a blight on the human conscience. The idea that any people can be inferior to another, to the point where those who consider themselves superior define and treat the rest as subhuman, denies the humanity even of those who elevate themselves to the status of gods.

It only seems impossible until it's done.

If you want the cooperation of humans around you, you must make them feel they are important - and you do that by being genuine and humble.

There is little favorable to be said about poverty, but it was often an incubator of true friendship. Many people will appear to befriend you when you are wealthy, but precious few will do the same when you are poor. If wealth is a magnet, poverty is a kind of repellent. Yet, poverty often brings out the true generosity in others.

A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don't have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.

It is a grave error for any leader to be oversensitive in the face of criticism

The authorities liked to say that we received a balanced diet; it was indeed balanced - between the unpalatable and the inedible.