We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that is alive around us, and reconcile ourselves with our environment.

The philosophy of fasting calls upon us to know ourselves, to master ourselves, and to discipline ourselves the better to free ourselves. To fast is to identify our dependencies, and free ourselves from them.

Instead of looking outside of ourselves and counting potential enemies, fasting summons us to turn our glance inward, and to take the measure of our greatest challenge: the self, the ego, in our own eyes and as others see us.

Times have changed; so must the lenses through which we see the political future.

Terror will crash down on us if we fail to understand that a pluralistic society requires the personal and daily commitment of every citizen.

We must confront our own racism. Discriminatory housing and employment policies are nothing more than institutionalised racism.