--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK…" description: "\"“Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK \"succumbed to the fake omniscience of insiders\". Prolonged immersion in the self-contained, self-justifying world o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/garry-wills-18365_arrogance_arthur-schlesinger-admits-that-jfk-succu_2714045.jpg" --- # Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK "succumbed to the fake… ![“Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK "succumbed to the fake omniscience of insiders". Prolonged immersion in the self-contained, self-justifying world of clandestinity and deception erodes the reality principle.” quote by Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/garry-wills-18365_arrogance_arthur-schlesinger-admits-that-jfk-succu_2714045.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/garry-wills-18365_arrogance_arthur-schlesinger-admits-that-jfk-succu_2714045.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef4/garry-wills-18365_arrogance_arthur-schlesinger-admits-that-jfk-succu_2714045.jpg) > ““Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK "succumbed to the fake omniscience of insiders". Prolonged immersion in the self-contained, self-justifying world of clandestinity and deception erodes the reality principle.”” [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immersion in secrecy erodes reality, leading leaders to rely on insider “omniscience” and lose objectivity. **In simple terms:** Secrecy distorts reality and judgment. Key Takeaway Seek transparency. Themes secrecy leadership reality distortion Mood critical serious Type political analytical When to use this quote - government decision‑making - media scrutiny - policy analysis Key Concepts political science psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect accountability? - Can leaders remain objective under pressure? A Different Perspective Transparency may be impossible in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admits Jfk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admits-jfk-2830027/) [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Arthur Schlesinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arthur-schlesinger-467774/) [Fake Omniscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fake-omniscience-2830028/) [Jfk Succumbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jfk-succumbed-2830029/) [Myopia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myopia/) [Schlesinger Admits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schlesinger-admits-2830030/) ## Related quotes > [ Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., in a mordant protest written soon after the \[1952\] election, found the intellectual "in a situation he has not known for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hofstadter/arthur-schlesinger-jr-in-a-mordant-protest-written-soon-after-the/) [Richard Hofstadter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hofstadter/) > [“Truman makes friends without influencing people,' noted Arthur Schlesinger Jr. 'Dewey influences people without making friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-pietrusza/truman-makes-friends-without-influencing-people-noted-arthur/) [David Pietrusza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-pietrusza/) > [I recall asking the late eminent liberal historian Arthur Schlesinger, in a public forum in Los Angeles in the late 1970s, if he would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/i-recall-asking-the-late-eminent-liberal-historian-arthur-schlesinger/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“I'm an idealist without illusions. \[Ca. 1953, attributed to John F. 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But with focus comes myopia and to conquer that, I come in to shake things up. To be invited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus/business-is-all-about-focus-but-with-focus-comes-myopia-and-to/) [Magnus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus/) > [As far as I'm concerned, it's a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-it-s-a-damned-shame-that-a-field-as/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There is something myopic and stunted in focussing only on the meaning of words and sentences. And this myopia is especially unfortunate when combined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-cooper/there-is-something-myopic-and-stunted-in-focussing-only-on-the/) [David E. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-cooper/) > [Most of us suffer from a kind of myopia. We see only the things that fit in with our beliefs about the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-macgregor/most-of-us-suffer-from-a-kind-of-myopia-we-see-only-the-things-that/) [T. J. MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-macgregor/) ## More by Garry Wills > [There is a particular danger with a war that God commands. What if God should lose?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-is-a-particular-danger-with-a-war-that-god-commands-what-if-god/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I have been an outsider in journalism and in the academy, because I never fully belonged to any of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-have-been-an-outsider-in-journalism-and-in-the-academy-because-i/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/do-not-touch-anything-unnecessarily-beware-of-pretty-girls-in-dance/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [“You will hear everlastingly, in all discussions about newspapers, companies, aristocracies, or party politics, this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/you-will-hear-everlastingly-in-all-discussions-about-newspapers/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [There's an interesting contrast between born Catholics and converts. Converts are often much more rule-directed. Catholicism isn't something that they breathed in from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/there-s-an-interesting-contrast-between-born-catholics-and-converts/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The leader is one who mobilizes others toward a goal shared by leader and followers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-leader-is-one-who-mobilizes-others-toward-a-goal-shared-by-leader/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Religion embarrasses the commentators. It is offbounds. An editor of the old Life magazine once assigned me a book on religion with remark that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/religion-embarrasses-the-commentators-it-is-offbounds-an-editor-of/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't really write for an audience. I just write what the subject seems to me to require.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-really-write-for-an-audience-i-just-write-what-the-subject/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Only the winners decide what were war crimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/only-the-winners-decide-what-were-war-crimes/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Accountability is the essence of democracy. If people do not know what their government is doing, they cannot be truly self-governing. The national security…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/accountability-is-the-essence-of-democracy-if-people-do-not-know-what/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I don't get far enough into a boring book to hate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-don-t-get-far-enough-into-a-boring-book-to-hate-it/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [To "bear arms" is, in itself, a military term. One does not bear arms against a rabbit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/to-bear-arms-is-in-itself-a-military-term-one-does-not-bear-arms/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [Politicians make good company for a while just as children do - their self-enjoyment is contagious. But they soon exhaust their favourite subjects -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/politicians-make-good-company-for-a-while-just-as-children-do-their/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [The romantic artist, off alone in his storm-battered castle, fuming whole worlds from his brain, reflects his culture's most persistent myth, of God creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/the-romantic-artist-off-alone-in-his-storm-battered-castle-fuming/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) > [I would rather listen to plays in the car than read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-wills/i-would-rather-listen-to-plays-in-the-car-than-read-them/) [Garry Wills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) [Explore all 35 Garry Wills quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-wills/) ## More Arrogance quotes > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [wishes for sons by Lucille Clifton i wish them cramps. i wish them a strange town and the last tampon. I wish them no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucille-clifton/wishes-for-sons-by-lucille-clifton-i-wish-them-cramps-i-wish-them-a/) [Lucille Clifton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucille-clifton/) > [The structure of the Swiss ruling class is rock-hard, and unchanged since the time of Napoleon. They sit on their mountains and lecture the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-ziegler/the-structure-of-the-swiss-ruling-class-is-rock-hard-and-unchanged/) [Jean Ziegler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-ziegler/) > [What you see of me on TV and all of that, that is me - that's truly how I feel. I'm just multiplying it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-corbin/what-you-see-of-me-on-tv-and-all-of-that-that-is-me-that-s-truly-how/) [Baron Corbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-corbin/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Never mistake someones quietness for their arrogance as you can surely miss out on an awsome personality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-mistake-someones-quietness-for-their-arrogance-as-you-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/most-of-us-think-of-pride-as-self-centeredness-conceit-boastfulness/) [Ezra Taft Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-taft-benson/) > [“I was consumed by a selfishness and arrogance that I didn't dare let go of until I found a new persona to hide behind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-koomson/i-was-consumed-by-a-selfishness-and-arrogance-that-i-didn-t-dare-let/) [Dorothy Koomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-koomson/) > [Arrogance is the outgrowth of prosperity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/arrogance-is-the-outgrowth-of-prosperity/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Timing and arrogance are decisive factors in the successful use of talent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-mannes/timing-and-arrogance-are-decisive-factors-in-the-successful-use-of/) [Marya Mannes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-mannes/) > [Some say work smarter, not harder, but the wisest are both. Whether you're more of a hard worker or a smart worker, if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colby-tatem/some-say-work-smarter-not-harder-but-the-wisest-are-both-whether-you/) [Colby Tatem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colby-tatem/) > [Closed some doors, not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they no longer lead somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frenz-jeffrey/closed-some-doors-not-because-of-pride-incapacity-or-arrogance-but/) [Frenz Jeffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frenz-jeffrey/) > [My success isn't a result of arrogance - it's a result of belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-mcgregor/my-success-isn-t-a-result-of-arrogance-it-s-a-result-of-belief/) [Conor McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-mcgregor/) > [“...a great man who is vicious will only be a great doer of evil, and a rich man who is not liberal will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-cervantes/a-great-man-who-is-vicious-will-only-be-a-great-doer-of-evil-and-a/) [Miguel Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-cervantes/) > [An increasing number of people are growing uncomfortable with the gulf between the world's rich and the poor. Ostentatiously splashing your money around simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kalle-lasn/an-increasing-number-of-people-are-growing-uncomfortable-with-the/) [Kalle Lasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kalle-lasn/) [Browse all 1,418 Arrogance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Arthur Schlesinger admits that JFK \"succumbed to the fake omniscience of insiders\". 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