Are we like late Rome, infatuated with past glories, ruled by a complacent, greedy elite, and hopelessly powerless to respond to changing conditions?
People often ask me why I persisted in doing research on a subject that was so controversial. I frequently respond by telling them that only a few scientists are granted the great fortune to pursue topics that are so new and different that only a small number of people can grasp the meaning of such discoveries initially.
If the country is ever attacked as it was on 9/11, we all respond with a sense of urgency.
I like visceral writing that people can't help but respond to, even if they respond, and they're shocked, or they're angry, or they're offended. I think that's the only way to reach people.
I think statistics go in one ear and out the other. All of us respond to stories more than numbers.
My intellect has always been more responsible than my emotions for how I respond to the world.
When you have the paparazzi hiding in the bushes outside your home, the only thing you can control is how you respond publicly.
We are not a victim of our emotions or thoughts. We can understand our triggers and use them as tools to help us respond more objectively.
Not only do I never lie, I never respond to lies, no matter how vicious, no matter how hurtful.
The thing I respond to the most is just great writing, interesting characters. I like to think that there is something fun about playing a character that has a lot of authority in her own life.
As an actor, one's role is very much to respond and react to the situation within the context of the character and his world.
I think we respond well when we do something well.
If you engage people honestly, and you're willing to do the leg work, people will respond to that.
By taking responsibility for how you choose to respond to anything or anyone, you're aligning yourself with the beautiful dance of life.
Sometimes I think God wants there to be a circus so we can show there's another way to respond.
Audiences are the same all over the world, and if you entertain them, they'll respond.
And I will never, ever respond to anybody - man, woman, vegetable, or mineral - who tells me to keep my mouth shut.
For me, when I start a novel, I only have a general sense of what I am going to do - usually three or four big scenes or something to which I can really respond emotionally.
I have been working for Africans since I was 18, when I got involved with the Nelson Mandela concerts. I got involved with debt cancellation because Desmond Tutu demanded that the world respond to that situation.
What happens is things come to you - director, script - and if you respond to it, it's because it's tapping into some part of what's inside you, and different roles tap into different parts.
A lot of entertainment, and especially in a half-hour format, can be all jokes, all the time. And some of those jokes can be really, really funny, but what I respond to, as a viewers, is identification or caring about the characters.
The Craft was what it was. People who respond to that movie respond to it really strongly.
My hope for my children must be that they respond to the still, small voice of God in their own hearts.
It is no surprise that companies do not often respond to moral pressure alone. We need to hit them hard in their pocketbook and on their balance sheet. We need to show them that their stock prices will be affected if their actions encourage Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.
I think it is the natural and innate function of certain organisms to secrete beauty in permanent forms we call artworks, to respond to beauty by answering its discovery with a new beauty.
When you ask someone a question and they're slow to respond, don't feel pressure to move the conversation forward. Remaining silent plays to your advantage. Moments of silence make people feel as though they should speak, especially when the ball is in their court. This is a great tool to use in negotiations and other difficult conversations.
It's difficult to believe that Al Gore was oblivious to the existing laws. He has to respond at some point.
I started to understand that for me, art was no longer about self-expression but about creative engagement with the world. I started to respond in an excited way to making work inside an industry and not feeling the constraints of audience expectation as some kind of thing that I should avoid.
When did Jimmy Stewart not play Jimmy Stewart? When did John Wayne not play John Wayne? But that's what we like about them. When you talk about acting, you really have to respond to somebody's personality.
The books are funny and sad, and that's what people respond to.
I am in the position where I don't have to work for the sake of working, so I'm very lucky, in a sense. So, I can always sit back and wait for a project that I respond to, that I want to do.
Imagine if investors in Wal-Mart really cared about bribery at that company's overseas operations or safety standards at its overseas manufacturing plants. If investors pulled their capital, corporate leaders would have to respond.
I've always been a guy that's liked a crowd and having people around cheering for me. I'm not a guy that will keep his head down or respond negatively to boos or whatever.
We hope that the elected officials will respond positively to a ground swell of letters, phone calls, e-mails and visits from parents. The law clearly states that the responsibility for giving a sound basic education to our children lies with New York State.
I'm very conscious that I want the dance audience to respond and respect what I'm doing, so I'm always very true to the music and I honour the music in the way I see it - I don't mess around with the music.
I had seen 'Do the Right Thing' when I was at college, and it was incredibly inspiring as a piece of cinema. Just brilliant, I thought. But saw 'Malcolm X' with a crowded audience. It was my first time in an American cinema, hearing an audience respond. You know, in England, everyone is so restrained.
