brian: with tim shriver? laurence: tim shriver had nothing to do with it.e were knocking on all these doors. we petitioned. near the an event white house, and marched on the white house, asking them. did all these things. we worked hard on it. it was very inspiring. it was said we couldn't get --we had some luck in raising the amount, but you could just do this as an american. the essence of democracy. citizens don't do it as much as they should. i have another friend. i covered the war in bangladesh, and my friend worked with a group of bengalis to change american foreign-policy. we tilted toward pakistan thanks to henry kissinger, during that time. they had nothing, and they knocked on doors. and this little group, without any power or money, changed american foreign-policy. david just a couple years ago, he retired, one of the top bankers at chase manhattan, but he won an award from the bengalis for what he did. again, what you can do in a democracy if you take advantage of it. brian: you are in a classroom with some writers, and they ask you the followi

brian: were you with tim shriver all the time? laurence: no, tim shriver had nothing to do with it.ust as knocking on doors, we petitioned. we did an event new the whitebr: house. we marched on the white house, asking them. we did all these things. we worked hard. it was inspiring. it was said we couldn't get -- we had some luck raising the amount. you could just do this as an american. the essence of democracy. the citizens do not do as much as they should. actually, i have another friend. because i covered the war in bangladesh. offriend worked with a group bengalis to change american foreign-policy. we tilted towards pakistan with henry kissinger at the time. they had nothing. they had knocked on doors. this little group without power or money changed american foreign-policy. david, a couple years ago, he retired as one of the top bankers at the chase manhattan. he won an award for what he did. from the bengalis. so again, it is what you can do. it shows what you can do in a democracy if you take advantage of it. brian: you are in a classroom with writers and asked this question,

tim shriver had nothing to do with it. just as knocking on doors, we petitioned.e did an event new the white house. we did all these things. we worked hard. it was inspiring. luck raising the amount. democracy. of the citizens do not do as much as they should. friend worked with a group of dollars -- bengalis to change american foreign-policy. we tilted towards pakistan things to henry kitchener. they had nothing. they had knocked on doors. without poweroup or money changed american foreign-policy. david, a couple years ago, he retired as one of the top bankers at the chase manhattan. he won an award for what he did. it shows what you can do in a democracy if you take it vantage. -- advantage. brian: you are in a classroom with writers and asked this question, can you make a living off of writing books? mr. leamer: i hit the wave. a mission to tell you how big my advances were. it were enormous. -- they were enormous. i get a million-dollar advance for kennedy women. then a million dollars again, three times i got a million dollars. now i get 10% of that sometimes

brian: were you with tim shriver all the time? laurence: no, tim shriver had nothing to do with it. just a volunteer and i knocking on doors, we petitioned. we did an event near the white house. we marched on the white house, asking them. we did all these things. we worked hard. it was inspiring. it was said we couldn't get -- we had some luck raising the amount. you could just do this as an american. the essence of democracy. the citizens do not do as much as they should. actually, i have another friend. because i covered the war in bangladesh. my friend worked with a group of bengalis to change american foreign-policy. we tilted towards pakistan with henry kissinger at the time. they had nothing. they had knocked on doors. this little group without power or money changed american foreign-policy. david, a couple years ago, he retired as one of the top bankers at the chase manhattan. he won an award for what he did. from the bengalis. so again, it is what you can do. it shows what you can do in a democracy if you take advantage of it. brian: you are in a classroom with writers and a

my cousin, tim shriver, led the effort to end the use of "retarded" for people who have intellectualelopmental disabilities. my aunt eunice kennedy shriver started the premise we would honor people's dignity and humanity. you don't honor people's dignity and humanity when you call them names. even if they are donald trump and even if we don't like donald trump. that doesn't advance what we're all about, which is our common humanity. whether you're a person who suffers, as i do, from a mental illness or addiction, or whether you're a person who is also marginalized in this country because of race, color or creed, we're all in this as americans. and we shouldn't be putting one another down no matter what the difference amongst us is. >> congressman, you write in your op-ed, when that lang is commonplace, it becomes that much harder for those experiencing mental illness to openly seek treatment that works. you're talking about not only the partisan bickering and name calling and finger pointing, you are talking about a real material impact on those who need the most help. >> well, it's