You know I started my career in politics in 1967. I'm not new to this. I did not just fall off the Christmas tree. I understand the world is complex. I know that there are people out there who want to hurt other people.

I don't for the life of me understand how anybody could contemplate the results of the 2000 election in the US and say that electoral politics doesn't matter any more and that Ralph Nader was right when he said there is no difference between the two parties.

I understand the damage the expenses crisis has done to Parliament and the paramount importance of restoring trust in our politics.

I understand the process of politics and the game of television.

If acknowledging that racial misgivings and misunderstandings are still a part of politics and life in America I plead guilty.

I think politics is important. It's how we run our society. I think it should be natural to have an interest in the subject and I almost don't understand why some people don't.

War should be the politics of last resort. And when we go to war we should have a purpose that our people understand and support.

That's the way it is with poetry: When it is incomprehensible it seems profound and when you understand it it is only ridiculous.

My old teacher's definition of poetry is an attempt to understand.

The more poetry you have in the head the more poetry you will understand because you will be getting to the roots of what it is that makes people write poetry at all.

They need to learn poetry. They don't need to learn about poetry. They don't need to be told how to interpret poetry. They don't need to be told how to understand poetry. They need to learn it.

Poetry should be able to reach everybody and it should be able to appeal to all levels of understanding.

Dealing with poetry is a daunting task simply because the reason one does it as an editor at all is because one is constantly coming to terms with one's own understanding of how to understand the world.

It's like I understand images and some people understand poetry.

The biggest problem is people are afraid of poetry think they can't understand it or that it will be boring.

I've written some poetry I don't understand myself.

A poem can have an impact but you can't expect an audience to understand all the nuances.

Even when poetry has a meaning as it usually has it may be inadvisable to draw it out... Perfect understanding will sometimes almost extinguish pleasure.

Pet lovers know that animals sometimes understand us better than we do and the annals of human sin and desire provide plenty of stories to drive the point home.

The secret of living in peace with all people lies in the art of understanding each one by his own individuality.

Malcolm X made me very strong at a time I needed to understand what I was angry about. He had peace in his heart. He exerted a big influence on me.

To understand why dictators have a problem with making peace - or at least a genuine peace - the link between the nature of a regime and its external behavior must be understood.

Everyone is interested in war in that people don't want it to happen. I'm much more interested in peace than in war but it's important to understand why we fight.

In a multi-racial society trust understanding and tolerance are the cornerstones of peace and order.