Why Fulbright Scholars should be proud of their awards

In another fine post of historical conjunctions, D over at Lawyers, Guns & Money points us to this quote from Senator William Fulbright:

"Power tends to confuse itself with virtue and a great nation is particularly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God's favor, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations — to make them richer and happier and wiser, to remake them, that is, in its own shining image. Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence. Once imbued with the idea of a mission, a great nation easily assumes that it has the means as well as the duty to do God's work."

If only we had senators like this today (or presidents who listened to and were aware of the importance of such notions as those above).