“

Words matter. What we call people matters. Making distinctions among words matters.

“

I’m not a huge fan of these extreme ways of protesting. Like many, I cringe a bit watching someone gleefully torching a flag or turning their back when our national anthem is played.

“

“I did not come all the way to Earth to fight Trump, the devil or dictators. I came here to transcend the Trump inside of me, the devil within and the thoughts within me that are dictators at best!”

“

If you think somebody is literally Hitler, is literally a Nazi, and is literally going to commit genocide, then you feel morally justified when you punch them in the face. Hell, it’s the least you can do.

“

“Better dead than Red” is what they used to say during the Cold War. But wouldn’t it simply be better to punch a Red right in his good-for-nothing face?

“

We have to abandon the hate and step into the light. We have to embrace light so that we can move forward and make the people matter again. We must force the system to pay attention.

“

Fear builds walls. Courage builds bridges.

“

If we respond impulsively or don’t respond at all, we risk exacerbating the problem.

“

It’s no accident that the news of the congressional sit-in is trending on social media. The thousands of people who have taken to the streets in the past weeks to pay honor to those who were slain in that Orlando nightclub want the same reform those inside the Congressional chamber are fighting their counterparts on the other side of the aisle for.

“

What do we need to do to bring about real equality and change in this country?