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This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people’s holding beliefs other than their own?

Alan Alda

As an artist, as an actor, as a writer, you have to use what’s personal to you. You have to be personal about your work; otherwise, it doesn’t ring true.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Artist Personal Use Writer
life is meaningless unless you bring meaning to it; … it is up to us to create our own existence. Unless you do something, unless you make something it’s as though you aren’t there.
ALAN ALDA

Create Existence Life Meaningful Something Thought Unless Make
It isn’t necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It’s only necessary to be rich.
ALAN ALDA

Famous Happy Necessary Rich
No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.
ALAN ALDA

Being Better Gentle Good Humble Man Something Sort Strong Woman
When I studied how to think in school, I was taught that the first rule of logic was that a thing cannot both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect.
ALAN ALDA

Both Logic Respect Rule Same School Study Taught Think Time
People who laugh together generally don’t kill each other.
ALAN ALDA

Each Kill Laugh Other People Together
artists try to say things that can’t be said. in a fragile net of words, gestures, or colors, we hope to capture a feeling.
ALAN ALDA

Artist Capture Color Feeling Fragile Gesture Net Say Thing Word
It’s really clear to me that you can’t hang onto something longer than its time. Ideas lose certain freshness, ideas have a shelf life, and sometimes they have to be replaced by other ideas.
ALAN ALDA

Clear Have Longer Onto Something Really Time
We’re highly social animals – I’m told by scientists that what makes us different from other animals is an acute social awareness, which is what has made us so successful.
ALAN ALDA

Acute Animal Awareness Different Highly Other Scientist Social Successful
I really don’t like plays or movies that service propaganda.
ALAN ALDA

Like Movie Play Propaganda Really Service
Listening is being able to be changed by the other person.
ALAN ALDA

Being Change Listen Other Person
Our lives depend on good communication. Good communication helps personal relationships, it helps bosses and employees get along better. We rely on it.
ALAN ALDA

Communication Depend Good Live Our Place
I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to Old Virginia, I’ll even ‘hari-kari’ if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun!
ALAN ALDA

Back Carry Cash Forward Gun Over Show
Remarkably, according to what they told me, nearly every inmate in the prison didn’t do it.
ALAN ALDA

According Every Inmate Nearly Prison Remarkable Told
I’ve been nominated twice before as actor in a leading part. Now I’m nominated as actor in a supporting part.
ALAN ALDA

Actor Before Lead Nominate Part Support Twice
Laugh at yourself, but don’t ever aim your doubt at yourself. Be bold. When you embark for strange places, don’t leave any of yourself safely on shore. Have the nerve to go into unexplored territory.
ALAN ALDA

Aim Doubt Get Laugh Yourself
Jean Paul Sartre says in “No Exit” that hell is other people. Well, our task in life is to make it heaven. Or at least earth.
ALAN ALDA

Earth Exit Heaven Make Other People Say
I was always interested in figuring things out. I’d do experiments, like combining things I found around the house to see what would happen if I put them together.
ALAN ALDA

Always Combine Experiment Figure Found Happen House Interest Thing Together
In the midst of the sense of tragedy or loss, sometimes laughter is not only healing, it’s a way of experiencing the person that you’ve lost again.
ALAN ALDA

Again Experience Heal Laugher Loss Lost Midst Person Something Tragedy
After a while I started to think of that as an image of something that went a lot deeper than the dead dog, which is you can’t bring back anything to life.
ALAN ALDA

Anything Back Bring Dead Deeper Dog Image Something Start Think
Working on The West Wing was similar in many ways to my experience on M*A*S*H, because you had people willing to work late at night to get it just right.
ALAN ALDA

Late Many Night People Similar Way West Willing Wing Work
Really top-notch directors, I’ve often worked with them just to see how they work.
ALAN ALDA

Director Notch Often Really Top Work
Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or the light won’t come in.
ALAN ALDA

Assumption Awhile Come Every Light One Scrub Window World
And I want to warn everyone in the press and all the voters out there: if you demand expressions of religious faith from politicians, you are just begging to be lied to.
ALAN ALDA

Beg Demand Everyone Expression Politician Press Religious
Whenever you wonder about yourself, look up at the stars swirling around in the heavens and just realize how tiny and puny they are.
ALAN ALDA

Heaven Just Puny Realize Star Swirl Tiny Wonder Yourself
What I can’t completely understand is most other people’s fascination with what the famous among us do with their lips and the rest of their bodies.
ALAN ALDA

Body Complete Famous Fascinate Lip People Rest Understand
I’ve been lucky enough to live through all the things that are supposed to give meaning to our lives, like parenting, grandparenting, art, celebrity.
ALAN ALDA

Celebrity Enough Grandparent Lucky Parent Suppose

This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people’s holding beliefs other than their own?

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This gets us back to that most pressing of human questions: why do people worry so much about other people’s holding beliefs other than their own?

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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