Liberty and Freedom

For those that think the Constitution needs to be "modernized."

"It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers."

- Calvin Coolidge, July 5, 1926

Tags: Constitution, Modernity, Progressives

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Permalink Reply by Patti Buxton on July 6, 2011 at 2:10pm

I am of the belief that those people who think that the US Constitution is "out-dated" are people either have never been taught thoroughly about the Constitution or they are people who do not like America and are trying to turn America into something else. The something else is most often a European-style socialist government. There is no excuse for being under educated about the Founding Documents. There are reputable institutions that are easily accessible. The founding documents of America are written with the means to change it. The problem, as I see it, is that it has been interpreted very badly at times. And these poor interpretations are very difficult to dismantle. Conducting our government within the confines of the Constitution is the answer. The problem is that we as citizens, have not been diligent at our duties of being involved with these matters. I was not always involved, but I am now.