"Why does it have to be politics? Is there a dynamism to that world and a theoretical capacity to do things that draws many talented people? Absolutely. Are there other ways to be involved and lead an interesting life? Of course."

"Yes, people pull the trigger - but guns are the instrument of death. Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror."

"Some say that I should settle down, go slower and not push so hard, so quickly for such transformational change. To them, I say that you misunderstand the size of the problems we face, the strength of the status quo and the urgency of the people's desire for change."

"When the United States was founded, the very idea of a nation premised on democratic principles of freedom and tolerance was viewed by the vast majority of the world as an experiment doomed to fail. Dictatorships, monarchies, and theocracies had for many centuries ruled the world."

"My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful."

"Bravery is born the moment you decide your values outweigh your comforts. Reflect upon this whenever doubt clouds your horizon."

"Strength does not come from winning, but from knowing that every choice we make paints the canvas of our life."

"Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and choice, is thought to aim at some good and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim."