--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our rulers for more than half a century…" description: "\"Our rulers for more than half a century have made sure that we are never to be told the truth about anything that our government has done to other peop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/gore-vidal-466_century_our-rulers-for-more-than-half-a-century_922796.jpg" --- # Our rulers for more than half a century have made sure… ![“Our rulers for more than half a century have made sure that we are never to be told the truth about anything that our government has done to other people, not to mention our own.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/gore-vidal-466_century_our-rulers-for-more-than-half-a-century_922796.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/gore-vidal-466_century_our-rulers-for-more-than-half-a-century_922796.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6c7/gore-vidal-466_century_our-rulers-for-more-than-half-a-century_922796.jpg) > “Our rulers for more than half a century have made sure that we are never to be told the truth about anything that our government has done to other people, not to mention our own.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that governments conceal truth, preventing public awareness of their actions toward others and themselves. **In simple terms:** Governments hide truth about their deeds. Key Takeaway Question official narratives critically. Themes power truth media government skepticism Mood skeptical critical Type political historical When to use this quote - political activism - journalism - academic research - human rights advocacy Key Concepts propaganda information control historical revisionism Questions to Reflect On - How does secrecy affect trust? - What sources can verify hidden actions? A Different Perspective The claim may overgeneralize; some transparency exists. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-people/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half a century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-a-century/) [Half Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-century/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rulers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers/) [Rulers Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rulers-half-1441413/) [Told Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-government-1246746/) ## Related quotes > [The great truth that government was made for the people and not the people for government has already been established in the practice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tyler/the-great-truth-that-government-was-made-for-the-people-and-not-the/) [John Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tyler/) > [The wisdom of our actions in the first three years of peace will determine the course of world history for half a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-wallace/the-wisdom-of-our-actions-in-the-first-three-years-of-peace-will/) [Henry A. Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-wallace/) > [If half a century of living has taught me anything at all, it has taught me that nothing can bring you peace but yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-half-a-century-of-living-has-taught-me-anything-at-all-it-has/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [ Cuba has not accepted the domain and imposition of an empire that has wanted to dominate us for over half a century \[America\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/cuba-has-not-accepted-the-domain-and-imposition-of-an-empire-that-has/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [Indeed, we need not look back half a century to times which many now living remember well, and see the wonderful advances in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/indeed-we-need-not-look-back-half-a-century-to-times-which-many-now/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I have had more than half a century of such happiness. 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I work for him, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-psaki/if-the-president-were-standing-here-with-me-today-he-would-say-he/) [Jen Psaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-psaki/) > [“It is contended by many that ours is a Christian government, founded upon the Bible, and that all who look upon the book as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/it-is-contended-by-many-that-ours-is-a-christian-government-founded/) [Robert G. 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Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. 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But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Century quotes > [I know always that I am an outsider; a stranger in this century and among those who are still men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-know-always-that-i-am-an-outsider-a-stranger-in-this-century-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The poetry from the eighteenth century was prose; the prose from the seventeenth century was poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/the-poetry-from-the-eighteenth-century-was-prose-the-prose-from-the/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. 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