“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.”

“those of us who read because we love it more than anything, who feel about bookstores the way some people feel about jewelers…”

“The people who run the show in the NBA don't know anything about Islam. I think that may also be why some people are against me personally--because I am a Muslim. It's the same way people can be against you because of the color of your skin. They don't look past these things. But it always depends on the individual.”

“We know who we are. People cling to these firm ideas [about gender] because it makes people feel safe. But if we could just celebrate all the wonderful complexities of people, the world would be such a better place.”

“New eras don't come about because of swords, they're created by the people who wield them.”

“But racial bias isn’t epidemic in law enforcement any more than it is epidemic in academia or the arts. In fact, I believe law enforcement overwhelmingly attracts people who want to do good for a living—people who risk their lives because they want to help other people. They don’t sign up to be cops in New York or Chicago or L. A. to help white people or black people or Hispanic people or Asian people. They sign up because they want to help all people. And they do some of the hardest, most dangerous policing to protect people of color.”

“You don't start at the top if you want to find the story. You start in the middle, because it's the people in the middle who do the actual work in the world.”

“… available people are the ones who are dangerous, because they confront us with the possibility of real intimacy.”

“Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”

“The fear of death make people do all the stupid things in the world. You want protection from evil? But who will live forever?”