Everybody was willing to give me a job. But I wanted to do something different. I saw myself as an independent person, self-employed.

History never seems to teach us any lessons. But that is no reason to give up.

"There is no greater gift to an insecure leader that quite matches a vague enemy who can be used to whip up fear and hatred among the population."

Our time here on the earth is short, and our chance to make a difference is tiny. For me the grinding blocks of history came together in such a way that I was able to take what fragile defense I had and hold in place for seventy-six days. If I was able to give much it was only because I had some useful things from my life to give. I am a hotel manager...my job never changed, even in a sea of fire.

We are all born with a powerful herd instinct and it can force otherwise rational people to act in inexplicable ways.

Kindness is not an illusion and violence is not a rule. The true resting state of human affairs is not represented by a man hacking his neighbor into pieces with a machete. That is a sick aberration. No, the true state of human affairs is life as it ought to be lived.

Everybody was willing to give me a job. But I wanted to do something different. I saw myself as an independent person, self-employed.