From a speech by President Coolidge July 5th 1926

…It was in the contemplation of these truths that the fathers made their declaration and adopted their Constitution. It was to establish a free government, which must not be permitted to degenerate into the unrestrained authority of a mere majority or the unbridled weight of a mere influential few. They undertook the balance these interests against each other and provide the three separate independent branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial departments of the Government, with checks against each other in order that neither one might encroach upon the other. These are our guaranties of liberty. As a result of these methods enterprise has been duly protected from confiscation, the people have been free from oppression, and there has been an ever-broadening and deepening of the humanities of life…

Vermont was a much different place back then.  Be gratful that you’re dead Mr. President.

 

 

America is 243 years old. Still young as countries go.

But I believe that today the Nation is in more peril then in anytime since the Civil war.

Some words of Wisdom from Old Ben…

“Well Doctor what have we got, a republic or a monarchy.” Franklin replied, “A republic . . . if you can keep it.”

Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom; and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech; which is the right of every man as far as by it he does not hurt or control the right of another; and this is the only check it ought to suffer and the only bounds it ought to know…. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech, a thing terrible to traitors.

Imagine what Ben would think of the average college student today.

And one more:

Judging from the behavior of our college students today this piece of sage advice has been ignored for a very…very long time.