Maitha

“exceptionalist, said Alastair. So? said the American. Exceptionalism is only a problem when it’s used to justify bad policies. Ignorance is a problem. Complacency is a problem. But to aspire to exceptional behavior—exceptionally generous, judicious, humane behavior—as anyone lucky enough to have been born in an exceptionally rich, exceptionally educated, exceptionally democratic country should do”
― Lisa Halliday, Asymmetry

“But how you feel love and understand love are two different things.”
― Tayari Jones, An American Marriage

“Even if we didn't know the context, we were instructed to remember that context existed. Everyone on earth, they'd tell us, was carrying around an unseen history, and that alone deserved some tolerance.”
― Michelle Obama, Becoming

“it was one of those cases I found so common later in government, where the risk of acting was far less than the risk of doing nothing”
― Michael Barber