As it stands now, those of us who are lucky enough to be citizens by birth don't have to do much. Very little is asked of us.

True patriots measure themselves not by personal wealth or power but by the degree to which they contribute to the community.

The next time someone uses denial of citizenship as a weapon or brandishes the special status conferred upon him by the accident of birth, ask him this: What have you done lately to earn it?

Today's multiracial Americans are at greater liberty to choose how they'd like to be seen, and under less pressure to pass for white.

We're all better off...when we're all better off.

The Boomers have modeled a set of bad habits, and one grand gesture is not going to unwind all those bad habits.

Identity in America is complicated but it's also simple: it's about whom you identify with and who identifies with you.

Throughout this country's history there have of course been systematic efforts to create an official underclass.

To be sure, the United States has profound problems, not least our faltering educational and physical infrastructure.

Society becomes how you behave.

The nativism behind the push to repeal or amend the Fourteenth is ugly and obvious.

The art of effective leadership is about navigating the dynamics of growth and success… holding a vision and leading a team, but arriving at the same time.

Attention and focus are essential skills for writers in a noise-filled world.

It is just an illusion of freedom. We are, perhaps, as free as a railway carriage.

Put three grains of sand inside a vast cathedral, and the cathedral will be more closely packed with sand than space is with stars.

Losing their names, these things underwent a process of uncreation.

Men have died for this music. You can't get more serious than that.

Most mainstream male fiction is littered with heroines, and female characters are basically so great, you want to fall in love with them.

I've owned a business for 26 years. My family isn't in politics and my supporters aren't special interest groups in Madison and Milwaukee.

I have other fish to fry.

As you get older, youre always maturing, youre always learning something new about yourself.