The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. For they know that the American genius is non-conformist.

Education is essential to change, for education creates both new wants and the ability to satisfy them.

A free society cherishes nonconformity. It knows from the non-conformist, from the eccentric, have come many of the great ideas.

Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.

The Bill of Rights was not written to protect governments from trouble. It was written precisely to give the people the constitutional means to cause trouble for governments they no longer trusted.

Censorship always defeats it own purpose, for it creates in the end the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.

History is organized memory, and the organization is all important!

Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.

If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.

The Americans who framed our Constitution felt that without freedom of religion no other freedom counted.

History is a jangle of accidents, blunders, surprises and absurdities, and so is our knowledge of it, but if we are to report it at all we must impose some order upon it.

But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.

Cynicism leads to despair, while fixating on the efforts that seemed to work in the past makes an idol out of spiritual states.

If she stays she stays if she goes jst let her go, making her pregnant won't stop her from leaving

We can't profess love without talking through hand puppets.

Never do anything that you aren't prepared to face the true consequences of.

Life is fragile and absurd.

Many stories are invented about me - too many stories; almost everyone uses me, and I'd say about 0.01 percent of the gossip is true.

When I am so intensely involved with writing my books I don't like to reread them.

Driving is something really special for me. Even women doesn't excite me as much as racing cars! I guess I'm just becoming old.

A novel that features real people is complicated, but in the end, that extra challenge is all for the good.