J. William Fulbright
FameRank: 4

"James William Fulbright" was a United States Senate/United States Senator representing Arkansas from January 1945 until his resignation in December 1974.

Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations/Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was also a Racial segregation/segregationist who signed the Southern Manifesto. Fulbright opposed McCarthyism and the House Un-American Activities Committee and later became known for his opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War. His efforts to establish an international exchange program eventually resulted in the creation of a fellowship program which bears his name, the Fulbright Program.

President of the United States/President Bill Clinton cited him as a mentor.

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The rapprochement of peoples is only possible when differences of culture and outlook are respected and appreciated rather than feared and condemned, when the common bond of human dignity is recognized as the essential bond for a peaceful world.

In a democracy, dissent is an act of faith.

I think we Americans tend to put too high a price on unanimity, as if there were something dangerous and illegitimate about honest differences of opinion honestly expressed by honest men.

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

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].

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.

We must dare to think unthinkable thoughts.

We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become 'unthinkable' thinking stops and action becomes mindless.

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

We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and rapidly changing world. We must learn to welcome and not to fear the voices of dissent. We must dare to think about 'unthinkable things' because when things become unthinkable, thinking stops and action becomes mindless.