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A pre-emptive war in 'defense' of freedom would surely destroy freedom, because one simply cannot engage in barbarous action without becoming a barbarian, because one cannot defend human values by calculated and unprovoked violence without doing mortal damage to the values one is trying to defend.

— J. William Fulbright The Arrogance of Power (1966)

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More quotes by J. William Fulbright

Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence.

The Arrogance of Power (1966)

In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, the test of its value is not its taste, but its effect, ...

The Arrogance of Power (1966)

The true mark of greatness is not stridency but magnanimity.

The Arrogance of Power (1966)

The citizen who criticizes his country is paying it an implied tribute.

When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal, and suspicion, then our democratic society is outraged, and democracy is baffled.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: J. William Fulbright (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.