Manners are the basic building blocks of civil society.

One of the most destructive things that's happening in modern society is that we are losing our sense of the bonds that bind people together - which can lead to nightmares of social collapse.

I don't believe that in our society that we should have guns.

Those who suffer are not those at the top but are the less privileged members of society.

The British are supposed to be particularly averse to intellectuals a prejudice closely bound up with their dislike of foreigners. Indeed one important source of this Anglo-Saxon distaste for highbrows and eggheads was the French revolution which was seen as an attempt to reconstruct society on the basis of abstract rational principles.

The real point is that totalitarian regimes have claimed jurisdiction over the whole person and the whole society and they don't at all believe that we should give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's.

Watching people just look out for themselves I think is extremely interesting. It goes right back to something like 'The Beggar's Opera' - the underbelly of society how it operates and how that reflects their so-called betters.

It is in Saudi Arabia's best interest to allow women to fully participate in its society and this includes the right to vote and run for office.

So if we have anything original to offer it's to speak from our own life about the society we're in.

I've always thought of acting as a tool to change society. I watch a lot of actors and I see panic in their eyes because they don't know why they act and I know why I act. Whether I'm a good or a bad actor I know why I do it.