The [Ronald] Reagan administration picked up the rhetoric of the anti-nuclear movement; they said "Yyeah, you're right." We have to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Students who acquire large debts putting themselves through school are unlikely to think about changing society. When you trap people in a system of debt, they can't afford the time to think.

The general population doesn't know what's happening, and it doesn't even know that it doesn't know.

That's the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don't work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital.

Jingoism, racism, fear, religious fundamentalism: these are the ways of appealing to people if you're trying to organize a mass base of support for policies that are really intended to crush them.

There's a good reason why nobody studies history, it just teaches you too much.

The world is a very puzzling place. If you're not willing to be puzzled, you just become a replica of someone else's mind.

Democratic societies can't force people. Therefore they have to control what they think.

Nobody should have any illusions. The United States has essentially a one-party system and the ruling party is the business party.

If you want to control a population... give them a God to worship.

A language is not just words. It's a culture, a tradition, a unification of a community, a whole history that creates what a community is. It's all embodied in a language.

Many sacred souls but same Spirit.

Most frequently asked question at my AI talks: Will robots be conscious? We slaughter 60 billion animals/year, but are concerned for robots?

One of the best-kept secrets in America is that people are aching to make a commitment if they only had the freedom and environment in which to do so.

People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.

I'm a big believer that life changes as much as you want it to.

I live in New York, so I'm used to the audiences that cheer and clap through a play. It is unusual for London audiences.

I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.

It's so strange how my life's changed; I know nothing about the people that I touch.

It’s impossible to say who has guns in Gaza anymore. The ballots are the only thing that can stop the violence at this point.

You can't undo anything you've already done, but you can face up to it. You can tell the truth. You can seek forgiveness. And then let God do the rest.