Americans have been taught that their nation is civilized and humane. But, too often, U.S. actions have been uncivilized and inhumane.

I ask that all Americans demonstrate in their personal and public lives...the high ethical standards that are essential to good character and to the continued success of our nation.

There is a story of an Oxford student who once remarked, "I despise all Americans, but have never met one I didn't like";

People like Eugene Debs, Helen Keller, Emma Goldman, Jack London and Upton Sinclair were wonderful writers who joined the movement against war and injustice, against capitalism and corporate power. That was a very exciting period in American history.

Capital punishment could not be justified in any society calling itself civilized.

Food, one assumes, provides nourishment: but Americans eat it fully aware that small amounts of poison have been added to improve its appearance and delay its putrefaction