--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When public men indulge themselves in…" description: "\"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 s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/j-william-fulbright-7682_abuse_when-public-men-indulge-themselves-in-ab_783187.png" --- # When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they… ![“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…” quote by J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/j-william-fulbright-7682_abuse_when-public-men-indulge-themselves-in-ab_783187.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/j-william-fulbright-7682_abuse_when-public-men-indulge-themselves-in-ab_783187.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/38b/j-william-fulbright-7682_abuse_when-public-men-indulge-themselves-in-ab_783187.png) > “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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abuse of power and false accusations erode democracy, which lacks tools to confront such misconduct. **In simple terms:** Democracy struggles when leaders act abusively. Key Takeaway Strengthen democratic safeguards. Themes politics justice integrity Mood concerned critical Type political reflective When to use this quote - legislative reform - journalistic standards - civic education Key Concepts accountability media public trust Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can protect democratic institutions? - How can citizens hold leaders accountable? A Different Perspective Overly cynical view may ignore existing remedies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) [Baffled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baffled/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Baffled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-baffled-5247229/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-society/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Fair trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-trial/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Indulge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge/) [Indulge in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indulge-in/) [Innuendo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innuendo/) [Liars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liars/) [Libel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libel/) [Libel Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libel-scandal-5247232/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Outraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outraged/) [Outraged Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outraged-democracy-5247228/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Scandal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scandal/) [Society Outraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-outraged-5247231/) [Suspicion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion/) [Suspicion Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicion-democratic-5247230/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) ## Related quotes > [When public men indulge themselves in abuse, when they deny others a fair trial, when they resort to innuendo and insinuation, to libel, scandal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/when-public-men-indulge-themselves-in-abuse-when-they-deny-others-a-2/) [J. 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William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [In the name of noble purposes men have committed unspeakable acts of cruelty against one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/in-the-name-of-noble-purposes-men-have-committed-unspeakable-acts-of/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Insofar as it represents a genuine reconciliation of differences, a consensus is a fine thing; insofar as it represents a concealment of differences, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/insofar-as-it-represents-a-genuine-reconciliation-of-differences-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Insofar as international law is observed, it provides us with stability and order and with a means of predicting the behavior of those with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/insofar-as-international-law-is-observed-it-provides-us-with/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [The age of warrior kings and of warrior presidents has passed. The nuclear age calls for a different kind of leadership… a leadership of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/the-age-of-warrior-kings-and-of-warrior-presidents-has-passed-the/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [We must dare to think 'unthinkable' thoughts. We must learn to explore all the options and possibilities that confront us in a complex and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/we-must-dare-to-think-unthinkable-thoughts-we-must-learn-to-explore/) [J. 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William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > […Man's struggle to be rational about himself, about his relationship to his own society and to other peoples and nations involves a constant search…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/man-s-struggle-to-be-rational-about-himself-about-his-relationship-to/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [I do not question the power of our weapons and the efficiency of our logistics; I cannot say these things delight me as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/i-do-not-question-the-power-of-our-weapons-and-the-efficiency-of-our/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [The Soviet Union has indeed been our greatest menace - not so much because of what it has done, but because of the excuses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/the-soviet-union-has-indeed-been-our-greatest-menace-not-so-much/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) [Explore all 88 J. William Fulbright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) ## More Abuse quotes > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [Being nice is okay,but don't allow anybody to abuse it...try to fight for your self when you know your on the right way...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-is-okay-but-don-t-allow-anybody-to-abuse-it-try-to-fight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Build a bridge over shame by teaching kids about sexual abuse. Give them a chance to run to us should they encounter it. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-byers-ruch/build-a-bridge-over-shame-by-teaching-kids-about-sexual-abuse-give/) [Carolyn Byers Ruch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-byers-ruch/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [“The sole reason I stand to open it up now is that lots of people who are in pain just like I was, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-dsouza/the-sole-reason-i-stand-to-open-it-up-now-is-that-lots-of-people-who/) [Patricia Dsouza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-dsouza/) > [Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atifete-jahjaga/democracy-must-be-built-through-open-societies-that-share-information/) [Atifete Jahjaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atifete-jahjaga/) > [I have a theory that all abuse, no matter what kind of abuse it is, is foremost an assault on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-westover/i-have-a-theory-that-all-abuse-no-matter-what-kind-of-abuse-it-is-is/) [Tara Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-westover/) > [“Blaming therapy, social work and other caring professions for the confabulation of testimony of 'satanic ritual abuse' legitimated a programme of political and social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/blaming-therapy-social-work-and-other-caring-professions-for-the/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [Finally, the scariest thing about abuse of any shape or form, is, in my opinion, not the abuse itself, but that if it continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cumming/finally-the-scariest-thing-about-abuse-of-any-shape-or-form-is-in-my/) [Alan Cumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cumming/) > [“Research on organised abuse emphasises the diversity of organised abuse cases, and the ways in which serious forms of child maltreatment cluster in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-salter/research-on-organised-abuse-emphasises-the-diversity-of-organised/) [Michael Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-salter/) > [“Stand up for yourself. 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They will mirror your actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/words-are-free-it-does-not-mean-you-should-abuse-them-be-kind-with/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) [Browse all 3,113 Abuse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abuse/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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