There's probably a little greater case for pessimism than optimism. But I do not rule out optimism.

There's probably a little greater case for pessimism than optimism. But I do not rule out optimism.

It is hard to cement any relations with any country based on promises that may not be deliverable.

A government of, by and for the people is obligated to conduct the nation's business in a manner that respects dissent.

America is very decentralized in how it supports the humanities, unlike European countries where virtually everything stems from the central government.

America somehow thinks that leadership relates to governance, and it certainly does. But society is much bigger than governance, and some of the truly great leadership of our society is outside the governance arena.

Civility is not about dousing strongly held views. It's about making sure that people are willing to respect other perspectives.

Civility is not simply about manners.

History provides a sense of where we've been and lessons that can be taken forward.

I am appalled by the notion of cultural wars.

I have a long-term interest in the humanities.

I think America is going to have to think through whether it wants to uplift the political dialogue or advance an approach that divides and, frankly, can lead to violence.

If you read literature, you put yourself in somebody else's shoes. You learn from great figures in literature.

Our culture is more shaped by the arts and humanities than it often is by politics.

Politics has high and low moments. Sometimes it brings out the better angels of our nature; sometimes baser instincts.

Public decision-making does not lend itself to certitude.

The arts and humanities are vastly more important in troubled times.

The hallmark of our times is change and acceleration, but we have to provide the history.

The majority of U.S. high school students don't know within 50 years when the Civil War occurred.

There are words bandied about that are being misused - words like 'socialism,' words like 'communism,' words like 'fascism.'

The trust has broken down. It will take some time to change attitudes and attitudes are going to be needed to develop trust

Civility is not about dousing strongly held views. Its about making sure that people are willing to respect other perspectives.

The only time I would like to see was the 20s and 30s in America because I love the music and the style and the optimism, I wanted to see New York being built. I wanted to see all that, you know.

If pessimism is despair, optimism is cowardice and stupidity. Is there any need to choose between them?

I am not a prophet in any sense of the word, and I entertain an active and intense dislike of the foregoing mixture of optimism, fatalism, and conservatism.

Optimism is inevitably the last hope of the defeated.

Optimism with some experience behind it is much more energizing than plain old experience with a certain degree of cynicism.

There are grounds for cautious optimism that we may now be near the end ofthe search for the ultimate laws of nature.

The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser - in case you thought optimism was dead.

If you pretend to be good, the world takes you very seriously. If you pretend to be bad, it doesn't. Such is the astounding stupidity of optimism.

But Walt and him shared the same kind of optimism. Walt believed in himself, and he was optimistic about what he wanted to do. He just knew it will be okay, and Dali was the same way. They had a great deal in common that way.

With optimism, you look upon the sunny side of things. People say, 'Studs, you're an optimist.' I never said I was an optimist. I have hope because what's the alternative to hope? Despair? If you have despair, you might as well put your head in the oven.

Optimism is the foundation of courage.

Optimism - the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.

My view is that at a younger age your optimism is more and you have more imagination etc. You have less bias.

Optimism is a kind of heart stimulant - the digitalis of failure.

Pessimism, when you get used to it, is just as agreeable as optimism.

These are the soul's changes. I don't believe in ageing. I believe in forever altering one's aspect to the sun. Hence my optimism.

The failure of national economic policy is costing us more than jobs; it has begun to weaken that uniquely American spirit of risk-taking, large ambition, and optimism about the future. We must rally them now to bold departures that rebuild our national morale as well as our material prosperity.

That is why, with optimism instead of fear, all those who want to see Puerto Rico's status resolved should seek the truth about each option, including the upside and the downside of each.

There is no fun in psychiatry. If you try to get fun out of it, you pay a considerable price for your unjustifiable optimism.

World War II, the atomic bomb, the Cold War, made it hard for Americans to continue their optimism.

Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A "you can do it" when things are tough.

Comedy is acting out optimism.

What passes for optimism is most often the effect of an intellectual error.

The basis of optimism is sheer terror.

There's probably a little greater case for pessimism than optimism. But I do not rule out optimism.

We must return optimism to our parenting. To focus on the joys, not the hassles; the love, not the disappointments; the common sense, not the complexities.

Optimism is the opium of the people.