--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The only real diplomacy ever performed by…" description: "\"The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in deceiving their own people after their dumbness has got them into a war.\" — Will Rogers" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg" --- # The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in… ![“The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in deceiving their own people after their dumbness has got them into a war.” quote by Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg) > “The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in deceiving their own people after their dumbness has got them into a war.” [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Claims diplomats deceive their own people, leading to war due to collective foolishness. **In simple terms:** Diplomacy can mislead, causing war. Key Takeaway Demand transparency and accountability in foreign policy. Themes politics deception war responsibility Mood skeptical critical Type political satirical When to use this quote - policy analysis - public debate - education - journalism - civic engagement Key Concepts diplomacy public trust media influence Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens hold diplomats accountable? - What safeguards prevent war‑making? A Different Perspective Not all diplomatic actions are deceitful; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceiving/) [Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy/) [Diplomacy Performed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomacy-performed-4112169/) [Diplomat Deceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomat-deceiving-4112167/) [Diplomats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diplomats/) [Dumbness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dumbness/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Dumbness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-dumbness-4112170/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Diplomacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-diplomacy-4112168/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Shrewdness in public life all over the world is always honored, while honesty in public men is generally attributed to dumbness and is seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/shrewdness-in-public-life-all-over-the-world-is-always-honored-while/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Diplomats are just as essential to starting a war as soldiers are for finishing it... You take diplomacy out of war, and the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/diplomats-are-just-as-essential-to-starting-a-war-as-soldiers-are-for/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [It looks like the financial giants of the world have bungled as much as the diplomats and politicians. This would be a great time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/it-looks-like-the-financial-giants-of-the-world-have-bungled-as-much/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [You can see the latest dumbness as just the end of a long line of dumbnesses that have been taking place for thousands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-handelsman/you-can-see-the-latest-dumbness-as-just-the-end-of-a-long-line-of/) [J. B. Handelsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-handelsman/) > [The downward spiral of Dumbness in America is about to hit a new low.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-downward-spiral-of-dumbness-in-america-is-about-to-hit-a-new-low/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“A veil of pretense can definitely conceal your dumbness but then it assures the proliferation of your dumbness instead of stagnating it by seeking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayesha/a-veil-of-pretense-can-definitely-conceal-your-dumbness-but-then-it/) [Ayesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayesha/) > [I certainly wasn't seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-haley/i-certainly-wasn-t-seeking-any-degree-the-way-a-college-confers-a/) [Alex Haley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-haley/) > [Dumbness comes from the fact that a child is born deaf and that it consequently never learns how to articulate, for it is by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-graham-bell/dumbness-comes-from-the-fact-that-a-child-is-born-deaf-and-that-it/) [Alexander Graham Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-graham-bell/) > [The blind faith turns the spirit dumb and deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/the-blind-faith-turns-the-spirit-dumb-and-deaf/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [The major force in world history is sheer dumbness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-wolf/the-major-force-in-world-history-is-sheer-dumbness/) [Eric Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-wolf/) > [The shocking possibility that dumb people don't exist in sufficient numbers to warrant the millions of careers devoted to tending them will seem incredible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/the-shocking-possibility-that-dumb-people-don-t-exist-in-sufficient/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [“ Wagon Train was on. It seemed to be beaming in from some foreign country. I shut that off, too, and went into another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/wagon-train-was-on-it-seemed-to-be-beaming-in-from-some-foreign/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [never underestimate your dumbness!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-benton/never-underestimate-your-dumbness/) [Jim Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-benton/) > [I do remember at my very first opening in 1979 another artist coming up to me, and he was haranguing me, saying, "Did you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-simmons/i-do-remember-at-my-very-first-opening-in-1979-another-artist-coming/) [Laurie Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-simmons/) > [No harm comes to man from outside alone: dumbness is the objective spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/no-harm-comes-to-man-from-outside-alone-dumbness-is-the-objective/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) ## More by Will Rogers > [She was so ugly she could make a mule back away from an oat bin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/she-was-so-ugly-she-could-make-a-mule-back-away-from-an-oat-bin/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [We are always saying: Let the Law take its Course but what we really mean is: Let the Law take OUR Course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-are-always-saying-let-the-law-take-its-course-but-what-we-really/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The Democrats and the Republicans are equally corrupt where money is concerned. It's only in the amount where the Republicans excel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-democrats-and-the-republicans-are-equally-corrupt-where-money-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Farmers, get out your sense of humor. Congress meets to relieve you again next week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/farmers-get-out-your-sense-of-humor-congress-meets-to-relieve-you/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Politicians, after all, are not over a year behind public opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/politicians-after-all-are-not-over-a-year-behind-public-opinion/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [American invents everything, but the trouble is we get tired of it the minute the new is wore off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/american-invents-everything-but-the-trouble-is-we-get-tired-of-it-the/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I don't know what humor is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-don-t-know-what-humor-is/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There are two things I don't care how smart you are, you will never understand. One is an alienist's testimony, and the other is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-things-i-don-t-care-how-smart-you-are-you-will-never/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The more you observe politics, the more you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-more-you-observe-politics-the-more-you-ve-got-to-admit-that-each/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [I don't think you can make a lawyer honest by an act of legislature. You've got to work on his conscience. And his lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/i-don-t-think-you-can-make-a-lawyer-honest-by-an-act-of-legislature/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-are-two-theories-to-arguing-with-a-woman-neither-works/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [America is a great country, but you can't live in it for nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/america-is-a-great-country-but-you-can-t-live-in-it-for-nothing/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [There ought to be one day - just one - when there is open season on senators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/there-ought-to-be-one-day-just-one-when-there-is-open-season-on/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Every Gag I tell must be based on truth. No matter how much I may exaggerate it, it must have a certain amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/every-gag-i-tell-must-be-based-on-truth-no-matter-how-much-i-may/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [So live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/so-live-that-you-would-not-mind-selling-your-pet-parrot-to-the-town/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) [Explore all 776 Will Rogers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## More Deceiving quotes > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/who-s-to-say-that-it-takes-something-like-a-drug-to-mess-with-your/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Half-instructed confessors have done my soul great harm; for I could not always have such learned ones as I would have desired. They certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/half-instructed-confessors-have-done-my-soul-great-harm-for-i-could/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [The intention of never deceiving often exposes us to deception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-intention-of-never-deceiving-often-exposes-us-to-deception/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [It is unhappily true that much insincere Literature and Art, executed solely with a view to effect, does succeed by deceiving the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/it-is-unhappily-true-that-much-insincere-literature-and-art-executed/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [Amusement that is excessive and followed only for its own sake, allures and deceives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/amusement-that-is-excessive-and-followed-only-for-its-own-sake/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The man was no stranger to deception, and yet his heart was pounding wildly now. He took another deep, throbbing breath. You've been deceiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-man-was-no-stranger-to-deception-and-yet-his-heart-was-pounding/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-so-easy-as-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-we-wish-we-readily/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [No, it's not that they're bad. It's that they're obliged to pretend they're good. They've been brought up to deceive and be cunning, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/no-it-s-not-that-they-re-bad-it-s-that-they-re-obliged-to-pretend/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [You should have taken me with you," I whisper to him. Then I lean my head against his and begin to cry. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/you-should-have-taken-me-with-you-i-whisper-to-him-then-i-lean-my/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [I smile but it doesn't mean that I'm okay and happy. Remember, looks can be deceiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-smile-but-it-doesn-t-mean-that-i-m-okay-and-happy-remember-looks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cunning grows in deceit at seeing itself discovered, and tries to deceive with truth itselft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cunning-grows-in-deceit-at-seeing-itself-discovered-and-tries-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 704 Deceiving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceiving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in deceiving their own people after their dumbness has got them into a war.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Will Rogers" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-by-a-diplomat-is-in-deceiving/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deceiving" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-by-a-diplomat-is-in-deceiving/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/033/will-rogers-272_deceiving_the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-b_2898872.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The only real diplomacy ever performed by a diplomat is in deceiving their own people after their dumbness…” — Will Rogers", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Will Rogers", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The only real diplomacy ever performed...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-by-a-diplomat-is-in-deceiving/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/the-only-real-diplomacy-ever-performed-by-a-diplomat-is-in-deceiving/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```