When my children were growing up, we began every family meal - which included breakfast and dinner every day - with a prayer. We are Jewish and so it was the prayer over bread, when we were having bread, or the catch-all prayer for everything when we weren't.

The situation around Terri Schiavo was a deeply held conflict over what to do if someone isn't going to return to consciousness or competence. Who will decide? Even there, where we had settled legal rules, we still had disagreement. We're torn about these things.

In the time when my mother began standing up against prejudice and racism, the vast majority of white Americans rarely thought about civil rights.

Our dad hugged us and kissed us so much that some friends and relatives complained that he was going to turn us into sissies or homosexuals. But my dad didn't care. Let them raise their kids in a reserved and reticent way. He grew up in Israel, and his boys were going to be hugged and kissed by their father and know they were loved.

It's been nice to spend time with the family. It's been good to spend time with the wife and kids.

Viola Davis, Patti Smith, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julianne Moore. I could go on forever listing names. However... my greatest inspirations have, without a doubt, been my teachers, friends, and family.

Generally, I do not talk about people - family or friends. This is how I am.

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