--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Americans can tolerate some secrecy…" description: "\"Americans can tolerate some secrecy, particularly when it is rooted in protection of the public's interests. But when the claims appear to hide wrongdo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/neal-katyal-8085_begin_americans-can-tolerate-some-secrecy-part_719538.jpg" --- # Americans can tolerate some secrecy, particularly when it… ![“Americans can tolerate some secrecy, particularly when it is rooted in protection of the public's interests. But when the claims appear to hide wrongdoing, they begin to curdle.” quote by Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/neal-katyal-8085_begin_americans-can-tolerate-some-secrecy-part_719538.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/neal-katyal-8085_begin_americans-can-tolerate-some-secrecy-part_719538.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/neal-katyal-8085_begin_americans-can-tolerate-some-secrecy-part_719538.jpg) > “Americans can tolerate some secrecy, particularly when it is rooted in protection of the public's interests. But when the claims appear to hide wrongdoing, they begin to curdle.” [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public secrecy is acceptable when protecting interests, but concealment of wrongdoing erodes trust. **In simple terms:** Secrecy is fine for protection, not for hiding crimes. Key Takeaway Maintain transparency when credibility is at stake. Themes law ethics trust Mood serious critical Type legal ethical When to use this quote - policy making - media relations - corporate governance Key Concepts government secrecy public interest Questions to Reflect On - When does secrecy become unethical? - How to rebuild trust after concealment? A Different Perspective Balancing secrecy and openness is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Secrecy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secrecy/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think Americans would tolerate profiling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-brewer/i-don-t-think-americans-would-tolerate-profiling/) [Jan Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-brewer/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Our constitutional system is defined by a balance between the public's need for transparency and the government's need to have a zone of secrecy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/our-constitutional-system-is-defined-by-a-balance-between-the-public/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [“The cliché that “everything leaks; it all comes out in the New York Times eventually” is emphatically not true, above all for sensitive compartmented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-ellsberg/the-clich-that-everything-leaks-it-all-comes-out-in-the-new-york/) [Daniel Ellsberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-ellsberg/) > [Secrecy and a free, democratic government don't mix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/secrecy-and-a-free-democratic-government-don-t-mix/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-schorr/power-corrupts-and-there-is-nothing-more-corrupting-than-power/) [Daniel Schorr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-schorr/) > [While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/while-the-intelligence-profession-oftentimes-demands-secrecy-it-is/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [I think Mitt Romney has demonstrated repeatedly he has a penchant for - for secrecy, doesn't seem to have any interest in actually showing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-think-mitt-romney-has-demonstrated-repeatedly-he-has-a-penchant-for/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Of course, corporations and governments have a right to something for their money. They pay the wages. But they don't have the ethical right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ralston-saul/of-course-corporations-and-governments-have-a-right-to-something-for/) [John Ralston Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ralston-saul/) > [Nothing is so oppressive as a secret: women find it difficult to keep one long; and I know a goodly number of men who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-fontaine/nothing-is-so-oppressive-as-a-secret-women-find-it-difficult-to-keep/) [Jean de La Fontaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-fontaine/) > [You are also asked to take an oath, and that's the oath of service. The oath of service is not to secrecy, but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/you-are-also-asked-to-take-an-oath-and-that-s-the-oath-of-service-the/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Secrecy is as indispensable to human beings as fire, and as greatly feared.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissela-bok/secrecy-is-as-indispensable-to-human-beings-as-fire-and-as-greatly/) [Sissela Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissela-bok/) > [Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/our-public-officials-have-forgotten-that-they-are-ultimately/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [Under every guilty secret there is hidden a brood of guilty wishes, whose unwholesome infecting life is cherished by the darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/under-every-guilty-secret-there-is-hidden-a-brood-of-guilty-wishes/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“You can never let your compassion stand in the way of justice because when you do, other people get hurt.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-lynn-hope/you-can-never-let-your-compassion-stand-in-the-way-of-justice-because/) [Donna Lynn Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-lynn-hope/) ## More by Neal Katyal > [Presidents routinely testify in criminal cases. You know, George W. Bush did it with Valerie Plame. Bill Clinton did it three times with Ken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/presidents-routinely-testify-in-criminal-cases-you-know-george-w-bush/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [I used to walk down the Justice Department on the fifth floor and see all those portraits of legendary attorneys general, Griffin Bell and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/i-used-to-walk-down-the-justice-department-on-the-fifth-floor-and-see/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [The Supreme Court should televise its proceedings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/the-supreme-court-should-televise-its-proceedings/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [People tend to take more risks in groups than alone. For these reasons, the law has always treated conspiracy harshly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/people-tend-to-take-more-risks-in-groups-than-alone-for-these-reasons/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [The Supreme Court has been very clear: when it comes to religious discrimination, you can take intent into consideration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/the-supreme-court-has-been-very-clear-when-it-comes-to-religious/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [I like doing scholarship for its own sake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/i-like-doing-scholarship-for-its-own-sake/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [I have no doubt that if confirmed, Judge Gorsuch would help to restore confidence in the rule of law. His years on the bench…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/i-have-no-doubt-that-if-confirmed-judge-gorsuch-would-help-to-restore/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [My wife is a doctor at a veteran's hospital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/my-wife-is-a-doctor-at-a-veteran-s-hospital/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [There is no doubt that dissents can serve a useful role by explaining when a justice thinks the majority has gone off the deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/there-is-no-doubt-that-dissents-can-serve-a-useful-role-by-explaining/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [One of our Constitution's greatest virtues is that it looks to judges as a source of reasoned, practical, rights-minded decision making.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/one-of-our-constitution-s-greatest-virtues-is-that-it-looks-to-judges/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [I generally sleep about four hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-katyal/i-generally-sleep-about-four-hours/) [Neal Katyal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-katyal/) > [Appellate advocacy, particularly at the Supreme Court, is really intimate. I mean, you're just a few feet away from the Chief Justice. 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People who are gentle, humble and able always have a great ending no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/humble-yourself-before-the-lord-and-he-will-lift-you-high-people-who/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [Just begin and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/just-begin-and-the-mind-grows-heated-continue-and-the-task-will-be/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Quitters don’t gain what they have started working on; waiters don’t start what they could have gained. What is common there is failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/quitters-don-t-gain-what-they-have-started-working-on-waiters-don-t/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-akin/i-don-t-know-the-future-i-didn-t-come-here-to-tell-you-how-this-is/) [Todd Akin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-akin/) > [The public should begin to understand that there's nothing that comes out of this campaign, or this Obama White House, that they can believe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sununu/the-public-should-begin-to-understand-that-there-s-nothing-that-comes/) [John Sununu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sununu/) > [“A mother is always the beginning. She is how things begin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-tan/a-mother-is-always-the-beginning-she-is-how-things-begin/) [Amy Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-tan/) > [I look forward to the day that a lot of the folks that you all talk about and cover on this network will begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-look-forward-to-the-day-that-a-lot-of-the-folks-that-you-all-talk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...I'd be interested in any tips you have for somebody starting out.” “Uh-huh,” I said, looking out the window. I decided, as we drove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-jenkins-reid/i-d-be-interested-in-any-tips-you-have-for-somebody-starting-out-uh/) [Taylor Jenkins Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-jenkins-reid/) > [I'm Irish and always will be, but America has taught me so much. 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