“Dogma--ideas uninformed by experience--is a form of ingratitude.”

“As long as your ideas of what's possible are limited by what's actual, no other idea has a chance.”

“Kitsch is much more than a question of style; it's a preference for consolation over truth. Disney's version of reality is not just cleaned up, it's pernicious. Unlike the best forms of art and philosophy, it undercuts the possibility of transformation because it portrays a world that's just fine as it is--or as it will be by the time the credits come up.”

“Human attempts to construct moral order are always precarious: If righteousness too often leads to self-righteousness, the demand for justice can lead to one guillotine or another.”

“Whatever else you may need to get clarity, you must start with open eyes.”

“Unlike kitsch, moral clarity is hard to come by. It means working to make sense of things you do not even want to acknowledge. It often means not knowing if you ever get it right.”

“If life is a gift, then the more you partake in it, the more you show thanks.”