A good working definition of fanaticism is that you are so convinced of your views and policies that you are sure that anyone who opposed them must be either stupid and decieved or have some ulterior motive. We are today a nation where almost everyone in the public eye displays fanaticism with every utterance.

A character is what he does, yes - but even more, a character is what he means to do.

Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.

Grief,she reminded herself, is almost always for the mourner's loss.

And what? What's the other choice? To passively let things happen and then say: "Tut-tut, what at botch that was"? Don't we all manipulate people? Even if we openly ask them to make a choice, don't we try to frame it so they'll chose as we think they should?

Parents always make their worst mistakes with their oldest children. That's when parents know the least and care the most, so they're more likely to be wrong and also more likely to insist that they're right.

I think you don't grow up until you stop worrying about other people's purposes or lack of them and find the purposes you believe in for yourself.