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

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

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More quotes by J. William Fulbright

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.

Fanaticism is not a characteristic of mature societies but of unstable and politically primitive societies. Nor is it an expression of strength and self-confidence.

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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.