Russell Baker

"To think clearly, one must get away from crowds and noise."

"Nothing is as easy as it looks from a distance."

"The art of compromise is not the art of surrender."

"We are all the sum of our memories, and without them we are nothing."

"Happiness is not a destination, it is a method of life."

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

"In the end, what matters is not how hard you worked, but that you worked at something that mattered."

"A person should be free to extend services in a way that doesn't hurt others."

"Misquotation is, in fact, the pride and privilege of the learned."

"The good earth is rich, if we know how to use it."

"One cannot govern without faith."

"The purpose of satire is to expose the absurdities we accept without question."

"To describe my mother would be to write about the effects of the Great Depression on American families."

"Cynicism is the easiest position, and therefore the laziest."

"A journalist is supposed to present an impartial account of the facts, but that is impossible."

"The human species has always been drawn to the fantastic and the improbable."

"We confuse the freedom to speak our minds with the wisdom to know when to remain silent."

"Regret is the worst of emotions - it is the only one that cannot teach us anything."

"The test of your character is not what you do when things are going well."

"To observe humans is to understand that we are creatures of habit and comfort."

"The danger of nostalgia is that it obscures the hardships of the past."

"Writing about life is the best way to understand it."

"Children rarely misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said."

"The capacity for hope is one of humanity's most underestimated powers."

"We are all creatures swimming in the same cultural tide."

"The only thing more overrated than youth is the wisdom of age."

"Civilization is a method of living, an attitude toward the problems of life."

"To succeed, you must have passion for what you're doing."

"The mind is like a parachute; it only works when it's open."

"Political discourse has devolved into tribal loyalty and identity rather than thoughtful debate."