So much of America's tragic and costly failure to care for all its children stems from our tendency to distinguish between our own children and other people's children--as if justice were divisible.

Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.

You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.

The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child; it is whether we can afford not to.

Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.

You're not obligated to win. You're obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day.

Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee.

It's time for greatness - not for greed. It's a time for idealism - not ideology. It is a time not just for compassionate words, but compassionate action.

Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others.

The future which we hold in trust for our own children will be shaped by our fairness to other people's children.

How often must I get lost in a strange land of fairytales so that I can find my true self?

I would prefer to try and fail than to not try at all.

The man who has no inner life is the slave of his surroundings.

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become president. I'm beginning to believe it.

The imagination is part of the arsenal that actors draw from.

The reason that you call it 'grief' is because you've been programmed to believe that you should feel bad about death.

It is a reality attested by all history that if a republic assumes imperial functions it will not remain a republic.

Work-do plays, learn your craft, and go to school. Keep working. Nobody is going to give you jobs for going to parties or any of that nonsense. Go out, look around, do things.

To be still means to empty yourself from the incessant flow of thoughts and create a state of consciousness that is open and receptive.

Actors say they do their own stunts for the integrity of the film but I did them because they looked like a lot of fun.