We have heard the progressive argument about our national documents time and time again. They claim our founding documents such as the Declaration of Independence, and most importantly, the Constitution’s meaning should change over time to take into account advancements in society. In other words, they feel these documents are outdated and therefore, obsolete. Below is one of the best comments (CW on Townhall) I received when writing about the conflict between Originalists (View founding documents in their original intent) and Objectivists (view founding documents as outdated and therefore, interpret them using opinion and empathy).
“Clearly the founders intended that the job of a Supreme Court justice was to uphold the Constitution as it was written. These were brilliant men, familiar with history, who understood that societies change over time. Although they could easily have included language giving justices leeway to interpret the constitution in light of changing times, they intentionally did not. That's because they understood that the right to make such changes belongs to all of the citizens, not just a handful of jurists.”
And it is important to keep in mind the Constitution provides a method to update the document through amendments.
The best argument that defends the present day accuracy of the Declaration of Independence (DOI) can be found in President Calvin Coolidge’s July 1926 speech. Coolidge not only profoundly defends the DOI as being a modern document, he explains how the DOI defines a government of the people and not vice versa as the progressives preach. Below are some excerpts from this great speech.
“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. 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.”
“On an occasion like this a great temptation exists to present evidence of the practical success of our form of democratic republic at home and the ever-broadening acceptance it is securing abroad. Although these things are well known, their frequent consideration is an encouragement and an inspiration. But it is not results and effects so much as sources and causes that I believe it is even more necessary constantly to contemplate. Ours is a government of the people. It represents their will. Its officers may sometimes go astray, but that is not a reason for criticizing the principles of our institutions. The real heart of the American Government depends upon the heart of the people. It is from that source that we must look for all genuine reform. It is to that cause that we must ascribe all our results.”
“Reaffirm and reestablish these old theories and principles which time and the unerring logic of events have demonstrated sound.”
“It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4th, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history.”
“These were the doctrine that all men are created equal, they are endowed with inalienable rights, and that therefore the source of the just powers of government must be derived from the consent of the governed.”
“In each of these cases sovereignty through divine right was displaced by sovereignty through the consent of the people.”
“Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of a man these are not elements which we can see or touch. They are ideals. Governments do not make ideals, but ideals make governments.”
“The people have to bear their own responsibilities. There is no method by which that burden can be shifted to the government. It is not the enactment, but the observance of laws, that creates a nation.”
The DOI was the culmination of the words spoken by Thomas Hooker in 1638 “The foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people”.
What is disturbing - think about how many times the Obama White House and the Democratic Congress have violated these basic principals outlined by Coolidge in this speech. Since coming into office Obama and his socialist cronies have been abusing their Constitutional authority by passing Healthcare reform, Financial reform, the Recovery Act, the Toxic Asset Reform Plan, and so on. If he were alive today, Coolidge would be shocked to see the legislative power grabs by the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of our federal government.
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