Politics

A good education in the United States of America, one of the wealthiest and most powerful nations on this planet, remains a gift for some when it should be a right for all.

The soft power of science has the potential to reshape global diplomacy—and at significantly lower expense than that needed for use of the hard power of military involvement.

Pessimists do not change the world. They don't think it's worth the trouble. But you can.

Comment is free, but facts are sacred.

The world you live in has three problems: it is too unstable, it is too unequal, and it is completely unsustainable.

I have always believed that cynicism and pessimism were cop-outs — they're an excuse to take a dive. They're self-fulfilling prophecies.

If you choose to broaden your circle to include people who've had different backgrounds and life experiences, you'll learn what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes, and in the process, you'll help make this democracy work.

This democracy we have is a precious thing. For all the arguments and all the doubts and all the cynicism that's out there today, we should never forget that as Americans, we enjoy more freedoms and opportunities than citizens in any other nation on Earth.

What is certain — what has always been certain — is the ability to shape that destiny. That is what makes us different. That is what makes us Americans — our ability at the end of the day to look past all of our differences and all of our disagreements and still forge a common future.

Education has a public value. Your education will not only bring you a bigger paycheck. It will enable you to be a better fellow citizen, more productive, better able to participate in solving the challenges I and my peers have not been able to conquer.

Our education is under attack — what do we do? Fight back.

We should define the world by its opportunities rather than by its dangers.