I think it's difficult for young people to acknowledge being smart, to knowledge being a reader. I see kids who are embarrassed to read books. They're embarrassed to have people see them doing it.

My life is not packaged, Not tidy. There are leftover strands and jagged Edges that cut even my friends.

I know what falling off the cliff means. I know from being considered a very bright kid to being considered like a moron and dropping out of school.

America believes what's good for us is good for the world. It's very difficult to understand that that's not necessarily true.

As a young man, I saw families prosper without reading because there were always sufficient opportunities for willing workers who could follow simple instructions. This is no longer the case. Children who don't read are, in the main, destined for lesser lives. I feel a deep sense of responsibility to change this.

As a kid I didn't see black cowboys on the screen. What that said to me was that there were things I couldn't do or be because of my color. What we see others like us do gives us permission to expand our own horizons.

Each generation seems to invent its own reasons for war.