Andy Rooney

"The ideal way to communicate is to lay out the exact facts and let people think what they want."

"I have as much authority as the Pope. I just don't have as many people who believe it."

"Democracy is a system where the majority rules. Unfortunately, so do special interest groups."

"I try not to think about my mortality, but I'm very aware I won't be here forever."

"Most of my problems come from my own lack of discipline."

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."

"I think we should all take a course in how not to be ourselves sometimes."

"Reading is the best way to get to know what's really going on in the world."

"Change is constant, and the only thing that bothers me about it is that it keeps changing."

"I want to die young at a very old age."

"The thing about the future is that it's never been done before."

"Most of us spend our lives doing things we were never meant to do."

"I believe in getting up early, and I usually do. I just don't do it often."

"We're all winging it, just some of us are better at pretending we're not."

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."

"I think it's very important to have a sense of your own mortality."

"Most wars are started by people who haven't spent much time with war."

"I try not to give advice unless someone asks for it, and then I feel bad because they didn't ask."

"The world would be a better place if more people understood their own ignorance."

"I've never been comfortable with authority—mine or anyone else's."

"Good friends and good music—that's all you really need."

"I think people are generally pretty good, even when they're being bad."

"Most of us are just trying to get through the day without upsetting anyone."

"I believe that honesty is usually the best policy, except when it's really rude."

"Fear is just another emotion, and we'd all be better off if we admitted when we're scared."

"I've learned more from my mistakes than from any advice I've ever been given."

"The only thing worse than having a bad memory is not remembering it."

"I think the best people are those who aren't trying to be the best."

"Most of us waste our lives trying to keep up appearances."

"I believe in living for the moment, which usually means being late for everything."