Power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.
Daniel SchorrRead
I have no doubt that the nation has suffered more from undue secrecy than from undue disclosure. The government takes good care of itself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that excessive secrecy does more harm to a nation than transparency might.
Daniel Schorr's quote emphasizes the dangers of governmental secrecy and implies that a lack of transparency can lead to greater societal issues than the sharing of information might. He asserts that while governments often prioritize self-protection, it is the withholding of information that ultimately harms the nation more than any potential fallout from disclosure.
Themes
SecrecyTransparencyGovernmentTrustSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about government accountability, one might say, 'As Daniel Schorr wisely pointed out, we suffer more from undue secrecy than from undue disclosure.'
More from Daniel Schorr
All quotes →Similar quotes
I dream. Sometimes I think that’s the only right thing to do. To dream, to live in the world of dreams. But it doesn’t last forever. Wakefulness always comes to take me back.
Haruki MurakamiRead
Making fake biography, false history, concocting a half-imaginary existence out of the actual drama of my life is my life.
Philip RothRead
We are the prisoners of history. Or are we?
Robert Penn WarrenRead
All religions promise a reward beyond life, in eternity, for excellences of the will or heart, but none for excellences of the head or understanding.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
Caretake this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. Quit evasions. Stop giving yourself needless trouble. It is time to really live; to fully inhabit the situation you happen to be in now.
EpictetusRead
Old events have modern meanings; only that survives of past history which finds kindred in all hearts and lives.
James Russell LowellRead