That might be a little far fetched.
Still, the idea that we represent modernity with our classical liberal Burkean founding principles while reactionary movements like postmodernism, gaiaism, and fundamental islamism represent regressive primitivism would seem to be echoed in his 5th of July speech in 1926 commemorating our nation's 150th birthday. It's not a short speech, but it's a reminder of a more thoughtful and scholarly time in our politics. Even though we're constantly reminded of the sheer brilliance of President Clinton on a regular basis by his fans, when it came to writing his autobiography it was a meandering mess. A president who admired Coolidge greatly, was the one that came closest to his scholarship since, as evidenced by his recently published diaries.
Silent Cal could orate, when needed. His reputation for silence was exaggerated, his commitment to the core Jeffersonian and Burkean values at the heart of our national experiment, under appreciated.
Here's the part that resonates most with what I wrote earlier (having not read this speech before)
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.
The summation of the speech is also very interesting,
No other theory is adequate to explain or comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of the people. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren sceptre in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped.
What we get so right, and what too many nations still get so wrong is a strong adherence to a rule of law endowed by unalienable rights. Coolidge ascribes these rights as divine. Whatever the source of that spiritual yearning for freedom, that yearning waited a long time till it found its best expression in our founding documents. Lucky for us that we get to live at a time when we see the expression of those values more so than at any time in the past. Luckily for the rest of the world, we're happy to export the best of what we have to offer. We'll let you have those ideas for free, no strings attached. We'll even spend a great deal of our own treasure helping your country get there. We know in the long run our philosophy is irresistible (if not to those in power, at least to the people governed), and that trade partners are vastly preferable to armed rivals. But if you insist on the rivalry route, we're generous with the ass-kickings, as well (just ask our first dance partners, the Barbary Pirates).
(hat tip Powerline, via Ed Driscoll)
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