I have a one-question language test that people who have lived abroad do better on than those who studied in a classroom. Try my test yourself: In a foreign language you've studied, how do you say 'doorknob'?

Italian was my first foreign language. I speak it better than English.

Visual art is a foreign language I'm fluent at, but my native language is language.

Playing golf is like learning a foreign language.

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.

I've had Republicans come to me and say, 'Tell me how I should talk to young people!' as if it's some foreign language or something.