"Freedom is not won by merely overthrowing a tyrannical ruler or an oppressive regime. That is usually only the prelude to a new tyranny, a new oppression."

"Europe is dying. That is one of the unsayable truths of our time. We are undergoing the moral equivalent of climate change and no one is talking about it."

"Religiosity turns out to be the best indicator of civic involvement: it's more accurate than education, age, income, gender or race."

"The world we build tomorrow is born in the stories we tell our children today. Politics moves the pieces. Education changes the game."

"The highest expression of strength is tenderness toward the vulnerable. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"I am fascinated by history and particularly the Victorian era."

"Western history has been a history of deed done, actions performed and results achieved."

"Genius always finds itself a century too early."