The best escalator to opportunity in America is education. Nicholas Kristof More Quotes by Nicholas Kristof More Quotes From Nicholas Kristof Humans pull together in an odd way when they're in the wilderness. It's astonishing how few people litter and how much they help one another. Indeed, the smartphone app to navigate the Pacific Crest Trail, Halfmile, is a labor of love by hikers who make it available as a free download. Nicholas Kristof togetherlovepeopleway The wilderness is healing, a therapy for the soul. Nicholas Kristof wildernesstherapysoulhealing Our world is enriched when coders and marketers dazzle us with smartphones and tablets, but, by themselves, they are just slabs. It is the music, essays, entertainment and provocations that they access, spawned by the humanities, that animate them - and us. Nicholas Kristof usentertainmentmusicworld If only meat weren't so delicious! Sure, meat may pave the way to a heart attack. Yes, factory farms torture animals. Indeed, producing a single hamburger patty requires more water than two weeks of showers. But for those of us who are weak-willed, there's nothing like a juicy burger. Nicholas Kristof nothingheartwaterway Most of the time in the 21st century, we dominate our surroundings: We tweak the thermostat, and the temperature falls one degree. We push a button, and Taylor Swift sings for us. It's the opposite in the wilderness, which teaches us constantly that we are not lords of the universe but rather building blocks of it. Nicholas Kristof pushbuildinguniversetime Sex and gender are such befuddling mysteries even for those of us who are in the mainstream that you'd think we'd be wary of being judgmental. Yet much of society clings to a view that gender is completely binary, when, in fact, there's overwhelming evidence of a continuum. Nicholas Kristof yougendersocietysex A little bit of attention can go a long way. Nicholas Kristof goattentionlongway There are very few things I've done just twice in my life, 40 years apart, and one is to backpack on the Pacific Crest Trail across the California/Oregon border. Nicholas Kristof my-lifethingsdonelife One of the most crucial kinds of intervention is in advocacy. We can think about charities in the context of delivering services, and indeed that is part of their job, but advocacy is also getting governments to step up to the plate. They can also give more voice to those who don't have one. Nicholas Kristof stepjobthinkvoice The great divide is not between faiths, but one between intolerant zealots of any tradition and the large numbers of decent, peaceful believers likewise found in each tradition. Nicholas Kristof greatpeacefultraditionnumbers I was the first blogger on the Times's website. That happened during the Iraq war, when I wanted an outlet for the things I was seeing every day that couldn't fit into just two columns a week. Then I became interested in using multimedia, specifically as a way to engage young people. Nicholas Kristof daywarpeopleway Inequality causes problems by creating fissures in societies, leaving those at the bottom feeling marginalized or disenfranchised. Nicholas Kristof problemsfeelinginequalityleaving You will be judged in years to come by how you responded to genocide on your watch. Nicholas Kristof yourwillhowyou Girls' education is no silver bullet. Iran and Saudi Arabia have both educated girls but refused to empower them, so both remain mired in the past. But when a country educates and unleashes women, those educated women often become force multipliers for good. Nicholas Kristof goodwomeneducationpast Wilderness trails constitute a rare space in America marked by economic diversity. Lawyers and construction workers get bitten by the same mosquitoes and sip from the same streams; there are none of the usual signals about socioeconomic status, for most hikers are in shorts and a T-shirt and enveloped by an aroma that would make a skunk queasy. Nicholas Kristof t-shirtconstructiondiversityspace Every high school and college graduate in America should, I think, have some familiarity with statistics, economics and a foreign language such as Spanish. Religion may not be as indispensable, but the humanities should be a part of our repertory. They may not enrich our wallets, but they do enrich our lives. They civilize us. They provide context. Nicholas Kristof thinklanguageschoolreligion What use could the humanities be in a digital age? University students focusing on the humanities may end up, at least in their parents' nightmares, as dog-walkers for those majoring in computer science. But, for me, the humanities are not only relevant but also give us a toolbox to think seriously about ourselves and the world. Nicholas Kristof parentsmeagescience The news media's silence, particularly television news, is reprehensible. If we knew as much about Darfur as we do about Michael Jackson, we might be able to stop these things from continuing. Nicholas Kristof newsmediasilencetelevision When the poor know that their children will survive, when they educate their daughters, when they access family planning, they have fewer children. Nicholas Kristof knowfamilypoorchildren Worrying about bills, food, or other problems leaves less capacity to think ahead or to exert self-discipline. So, poverty imposes a mental tax. Nicholas Kristof problemsthinkpovertyfood
