When people want to inspire you to turn against some group of people, they'll often use empathy.

I think there's some evidence that when it comes to being a doctor or nurse, a police officer or therapist, that empathetic engagement leads to burn-out. Imagine if you're dealing with severely ill children, and you felt their pain all the time, and the pain of their parents - you wouldn't be able to do that job for very long. It would kill you.

I think we're going to care more about Americans than Africans. I don't think that's ever going to go away, and I don't think it's ever going to go away that people care more about their families than strangers, and their communities over other communities. But I think it would transform the world in such a good way if we could just acknowledge, at least intellectually, that an African life and an American life are the same.

I think Americans are always going to care more about Americans than about Mexicans.

It's hard to pull apart empathy from compassion. What is really clear is that we innately care for other people at least to some extent.

The fact that something can be used for good isn't necessarily a knockdown argument for it.

I love teaching. I wouldn't take a job that didn't include it.