Highly educated young people are tutored, taught and monitored in all aspects of their lives, except the most important, which is character building. When it comes to this, most universities leave them alone. David Brooks More Quotes by David Brooks More Quotes From David Brooks I want to try to make big films that hopefully connect with people. David Brooks want trying people I was really fortunate that I went to a high school where we actually had a film theory program. David Brooks program film school As a director, I like trying to unlock the subtext of the scene and try to put the camera in a place that helps that. David Brooks cameras trying directors I'm not a kicker and a screamer. David Brooks kickers I came to the conclusion is that we have a very shallow view of human nature in the policy world. We're really good at talking about material things, really bad at talking about emotions, really good at stuff we can count, really bad at the deeper stuff that actually drives behavior. David Brooks views talking world People tend to marry people with similar-width noses, eyes similarly apart, with complementary immune systems. David Brooks eye noses people If you do something really cognitively demanding, like buying furniture, it turns out buying furniture is one of the most difficult things we do. Go into a furniture store and look at a sofa. David Brooks furniture buying looks No matter where you are on politics, I think it is wonderful to see candidates funding campaigns not by talking to a very small number of very rich people, but by reaching out to a very large number of citizens. David Brooks small-numbers talking thinking One of the things capitalism does is, it does enhance and exacerbate the sin of pride, making yourself, the material world the center of your universe, instead of God's will. David Brooks pride doe world It's just a lot safer to be an incumbent. So I think they have used the campaign finance reforms. They have passed laws that will help themselves stay in office. And I think that's one of the flaws that we do have in the system. David Brooks office law thinking I'm a pundit. I'm, like, paid to be a narcissistic blowhard and be in front of the camera. David Brooks pundits narcissistic cameras If you grow up in a home where actions don't lead to predictable consequences, you don't develop strategies to control your impulses. David Brooks growing-up action home The people who really have character make deep, unshakable connections to something outside themselves. David Brooks connections character people I do think trying to live each day as a bunch of moral occasions, did I live up to what I would hope, and, if I didn't, what can I do tomorrow to be a little better, I do think we can improve. We get better at life as we get older. David Brooks get-better trying thinking The drugs are just growing all around the country, and so, it all feeds into problems that are not just urban, but are just spread throughout the country. David Brooks growing drug country It's a completely irrational decision to drop out of school. David Brooks irrational decision school We have an international system. We all profit from it. Trade profits from it. Peace. We can travel around the world because of it. And part of that system is certain ideas, the certain ideas you can't invade other countries for no reason. You can't commit genocide. You can't - rogue regimes can't have nuclear weapons, and you can't gas your own people. David Brooks country people ideas I learned I'm not a science writer. I'm not very good at describing how something is happening. I try to describe "So What?" David Brooks describing very-good trying The incumbents just have a ton more money because they have rigged the system to help themselves, because they have these networks of small donors. Meanwhile, the amount of people, the incumbents being reelected has just been - that has been going up and up and up. David Brooks donors helping people I think the Republican budget priorities are messed up. I salute for the way they're attacking some of the entitlement programs, but they are taking huge cuts, by pretending they're just block-granting it to the states, out of Medicaid, from the least fortunate. David Brooks block cutting thinking
