J. William Fulbright Quotes

A collection of quotes by J. William Fulbright.

J. William Fulbright (1905-1995) was an American politician and diplomat renowned for his significant contributions in the field of education and international relations. Born in Missouri, Fulbright completed his undergraduate and law studies at the University of Arkansas. He later pursued postgraduate studies at the prestigious Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.

Fulbright's political career took off when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1942. During his tenure, he advocated for international cooperation, education, and cultural exchange, promoting mutual understanding between nations. In 1945, he sponsored the landmark Fulbright Act, which established the Fulbright Program, an initiative supporting educational exchange and promoting cross-cultural understanding through scholarships for students and scholars. Today, the Fulbright Program has become one of the most renowned international exchange programs worldwide.

In 1944, Fulbright was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served for thirty years. A strong advocate for civil rights and ending racial segregation, he was also an influential voice during the Vietnam War, becoming an early critic of U.S. involvement and championing diplomatic solutions. Fulbright's dedication to international cooperation earned him respect globally, and he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1959 to 1974.

Through his career, Fulbright's efforts to foster diplomacy and cultural exchange left an indelible mark on international relations. His commitment to promoting understanding across nations and his instrumental role in creating the Fulbright Program continue to shape the world today.

The legislator is an indispensable guardian of our freedom.

The legislator is an indispensable guardian of our freedom. It is true that great executives have played a powerful role in the development of civilization, but such leaders appear sporadically, by chance. They do not always appear when they are most needed. The great executives have given inspiration and push to the advancement of human society, but it is the legislator who has given stability and continuity to that slow and painful progress.

J. William Fulbright

It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged fre

It is not our affluence, or our plumbing, or our clogged freeways that grip the imagination of others. Rather, it is the values upon which our system is built. These values imply our adherence not only to liberty and individual freedom, but also to international peace, law and order, and constructive social purpose. When we depart from these values, we do so at our peril.

J. William Fulbright

It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound o

It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound of ones voice, when forced to repeat a speech five or six times a day. As election day approaches, the size of the crowds grows; they are more responsive and more interested; and one derives a certain exhilaration from that which, only a few weeks before, was intensely painful. This is one possible explanation of unlimited debate in the Senate.

J. William Fulbright

It seems to me that it is these extremists who are advocatin

It seems to me that it is these extremists who are advocating a soft approach. Their oversimplifications and their baseless generalizations reflect the softness of those who cannot bear to face the burdens of a continuing struggle against a powerful and resourceful enemy. A truly tough approach, in my judgment, is one which accepts the challenge of communism with the courage and determination to meet it with every instrumentality of foreign policypolitical and economic as well as military, and with the willingness to see the struggle through as far into the future as may be necessary. Those who seek to meet the challengeor, in reality, to evade itby bold adventures abroad and witch hunts at home are the real devotees of softnessthe softness of seeking escape from painful realities by resort to illusory panaceas.

J. William Fulbright

When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny

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. It has no apparatus to deal with the boor, the liar, the lout, and the antidemocrat in general.

J. William Fulbright

What a curious picture it is to find man, homo sapiens, of d

What a curious picture it is to find man, homo sapiens, of divine origin, we are told, seriously considering going underground to escape the consequences of his own folly. With a little wisdom and foresight, surely it is not yet necessary to forsake life in the fresh air and in the warmth of the sunlight. What a paradox if our own cleverness in science should force us to live underground with the moles.

J. William Fulbright

To me, the irony of this involvement with size, as I observe

To me, the irony of this involvement with size, as I observed earlier, is the unwillingness or inability of so many Americans to identify themselves with something as vast as the United States. Bigger cars, bigger parking lots, bigger corporate structures, bigger farms, bigger drug stores, bigger supermarkets, bigger motion-picture screens. The tangible and the functional expand, while the intangible and the beautiful shrink. Left to wither is the national purpose, national educational needs, literature and theater, and our critical faculties. The national dialogue is gradually being lost in a froth of misleading self-congratulation and cliche. National needs and interests are slowly being submerged by the national preoccupation with the irrelevant.

J. William Fulbright

The citizen who criticizes his country is paying it an impli

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

J. William Fulbright

Naturepitiless in a pitiless universeis certainly not concer

Naturepitiless in a pitiless universeis certainly not concerned with the survival of Americans or, for that matter, of any of the two billion people now inhabiting this earth. Hence, our destiny, with the aid of God, remains in our own hands.

J. William Fulbright

We have the power to do any damn fool thing we want to do, a

We have the power to do any damn fool thing we want to do, and we seem to do it about every ten minutes.

J. William Fulbright

In the long course of history, having people who understand

In the long course of history, having people who understand your thought is much greater security than another submarine.

J. William Fulbright

There are many respects in which America, if it can bring it

There are many respects in which America, if it can bring itself to act with the magnanimity and the empathy appropriate to its size and power, can be an intelligent example to the world.

J. William Fulbright

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

J. William Fulbright

Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, a

Once you are labeled 'the best' you want to stay up there, and you can't do it by loafing around.

In a democracy dissent is an act of faith. Like medicine, t

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

J. William Fulbright

The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust ou

The biggest lesson I learned from Vietnam is not to trust our own government statements. I had no idea until then that you could not rely on them.

J. William Fulbright