The chief editor of U.S. News and World Report from 1976 to 1985 was Marvin Lawrence Stone. Born in Grace Coolidge’s hometown of Burlington, Vermont, on February 26, 1924, Stone went on to become a premier news correspondent after serving as a small boats captain in the Pacific during World War II. He completed studies at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism in 1949. After months of meticulous research, he broke the news in 1951 that the Soviets had developed their own H-bomb, to the astonishment of United States policymakers and military leaders. He was present aboard the last transport plane that dropped paratroopers into Dien Bien Phu before it fell to Ho Chi Minh in 1954. He was there to report on the rise of the Berlin Wall in 1961. He would cover the developments of the Space Age, eyewitness some of the most historic launches from Cape Canaveral, and earn a remarkable collection of awards, including not only accolades from Columbia and Marshall Universities but also three honorary degrees, recognition with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Four Freedoms Foundation Award, the American Eagle Award, the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award, the Gold Mercury International Award, and entry into the Washington Journalists Hall of Fame in 1990 among many other honors. He was a member of the White House Correspondents Association, American Society of Magazine Editors, and the National Press Club, in addition to several other nationally and internationally acclaimed organizations. It was his question to President Carter during the 1980 Presidential campaign debates in Cleveland that embarrassed the reelection campaign with Carter’s admission that he discussed nuclear policy with his daughter Amy.

A protege of the “Grand Old Man of Journalism,” W. Page Pitt (whose blindness from age 5 never hindered his success), Marvin Stone would embody Pitt’s admonition: “You are not here to learn mediocrity, you’re here to learn how to excel.” Stone would serve from 1985-1989 in the Reagan administration at the United States Information Agency. He would then chair the International Media Fund after 1989, working to encourage freedom of the press in Eastern Europe. While at U. S. News and World Report, Stone would leave a profound impact on the publication inherited from David Lawrence and passed on to Mortimer Zuckerman. Stone introduced the first full color pictures, stood by personnel others sought to marginalize for their color, and featured an editorial piece every year in honor of Calvin Coolidge, a President he deeply admired in spite of being an unfashionable opinion in most of his professional circle. Stone retains a certain stain on his record, regardless of his incredible 40 years in journalism, not only for his association with Lawrence and Zuckerman (both considered “bad news” to many in the intellgentsia) but also because of his service to “the enemy”: the still resented, even vilified Ronald Reagan administration. Yet, Stone’s credentials, quality and experience run at odds with the political prejudices nursed toward him or, for that matter, toward the quietly heroic thirtieth President (an admiration Stone clearly shared with Ron Reagan). Unfortunately, Stone passed away in 2000 at only 76 years of age.

Reagan writes this in An American Life,

I’d always thought of Coolidge as one of our most underrated presidents. He wasn’t a man with flamboyant looks or style, but he got things done in a quiet way. He came into office after World War I facing a mountain of war debt, but instead of raising taxes, he cut the tax rate and government revenues increased, permitting him to eliminate the wartime debt and proving that the principle mentioned by Ibn Khaldoon about lower tax rates meaning greater tax revenues still worked in the modern world (244).

Today, given it is Ronald Reagan’s birthday and (in twenty more days, Stone’s), we offer Editor Stone’s piece from the July 4, 1981 issue of U. S. News and World Report, entitled, “The Good Sense of ‘Silent Cal.’ “ At a time when some of us struggle with the basic ability to be human or even exercise the higher art of good listening, Stone reminds us to flex those unused skills here. He knew the classless antics and juvenile bitterness that are recurring vices in Washington no less than anyone who works in journalism for as long as he did (and who remains honest with self and toward the profession). He understood this knee-jerk tribalism was the lifeblood for many in D. C. (and anywhere partisans mindlessly grapple) but he also knew in Coolidge we had an example of something better, a higher discipline arresting those base, mean, low reactions that too often prevail against sound judgment and the responsibility to one’s oath. Coolidge once said, “Duty is not collective, it is personal.” I should not then predicate my obligations, my actions, my rhetoric on what the other guy is doing or not doing, it is mine alone to do what is right whatever anyone else is saying or doing.

Of course, Washington had its plethora of elitist windbags and childish partisans in Coolidge’s time no less than now, those charmed by the occasion to grandstand, hear themselves talk, and otherwise misbehave for mere political effect, scoring whatever points they could indifferent to law, constitution, country. That is not new but neither must it perpetuate with our help while we blame “the process” we continue feeding in our own circle.

• If you are truly tired of the political brokenness, stop incentivizing the postponement of responsibility in our representatives. Start looking for a Coolidge where you are, one who will not evade the hard work or difficult tasks ahead.
• If you are afraid of partisan deadlock, don’t keep adding to the rhetoric of antagonism. We have seen what happens when you give political opponents free advertising. How about trying something new? Take the oxygen out of the fire once in a while and do something generous, even for an opponent. They won’t see it coming and those coals will burn for quite a while.
• If you are genuinely fed up with the way the networks report, quit fueling the “cage match” news cycle. The hydra grows with every feeding. Nobody is forcing you to watch or listen, turn it off occasionally and deliberately get away. World events will still be there when you get back. In fact, there is a world of healthful wonder and wholesome beauty waiting for you out there. Go explore it.
• If you are truly weary of incivility, don’t yourself be uncivil toward others. Your rights, however important you think you are, do not include abusing the rights of others. Your freedom to have and share an opinion does not carry with it the instant obligation to be provided a platform or an audience. Go out and earn it. Be careful about confusing volume with effectiveness, though, and don’t let envy of others’ success convince you that those who do it better than you do must be personally or politically wrong. Nor should you blame the other half of the country that doesn’t see it your way. Remember it might not be them, it might be something you are missing.
• If you want people to be better listeners, be a better listener yourself. You who malign others for their ignorance and blindness, are you listening to what is actually said or emoting as much, if not more, than those you attack? The plank in our own eyes often gets in the way of a clear (or fair) estimate of others. The dissatisfaction we at times have for our situation often has less to do with others and much more to do with ourselves. As Michael Jackson put it: “Take a look at yourself and then make a change.”

We really only control our own attitudes and actions. If we want something to stop or something new to start, it begins with the person looking back at us in the mirror. Destruction is always easier and involves infinitely less courage, less wisdom, and less maturity. But if we would enjoy building something that endures to pass on to those who come after we are gone, we better decide to get busy at it, stop tearing everything down, and begin building others up. Coolidge exemplifies this good sense and rather than consign him to historical oblivion, exert the additional effort to comprehend not caricature. You’ll start to grow when you do and look out, you may discover what you feel you so confidently know now has wisdom to guide and strengthen it.

Here is Marvin Stone’s “The Good Sense of ‘Silent Cal’ “:

“Calvin Coolidge…our 30th President (1923-1929) is greatly admired by Ronald Reagan. Mr. Reagan is sometimes derided for this devotion because most people do not understand how unfairly Coolidge has been victimized by history. He is one of our most inexplicably maligned Presidents. As was said in this space just a year ago, it is left to those of perspicacity to remember Coolidge in a better light. He was a man who understood his countrymen. He suffered few illusions. Some may poke fun at the conventional caricature of Coolidge, but it takes only a sampling of his statements to recognize his good sense. The following is from the record:

‘It has always seemed to me that common sense is the real solvent for the nation’s problems at all times–common sense and hard work.’

‘Americans have not fully realized their ideals. There are imperfections. But the ideal is right. It is everlastingly right. What our country needs is the moral power to hold to it’ …

‘There is no dignity quite so impressive and no independence quite so important, as living within your means.’

‘The only way I know to drive out evil from the country is by the constructive method of filling it with good. The country is better off tranquilly considering its blessings and merits, and earnestly striving to secure more of them, than it would be in nursing hostile bitterness about its deficiencies and faults.’

‘The meaning of America is not to be found in a life without toil. Freedom is not only bought with a great price; it is maintained by unremitting effort.’

‘Of course we look to the past for inspiration, but inspiration is not enough. We must have action. Action can only come from ourselves; society, government, the state, call it what you will, cannot act; our only strength, our only security, lies in the individual. American institutions are built on that foundation. That is the meaning of self-government, the worth and the responsibility of the individual. In that America has put all her trust. If that fail, democracy fails, freedom is a delusion, and slavery must prevail.’

‘If you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.’

‘The world has had enough of the curse of hatred and selfishness, of destruction and war. It has had enough of the wrong use of material power. For the healing of the nations there must be good will and charity, confidence and peace. The time has come for a more practical use of moral power, and more reliance on the principle that right makes its own might.’

‘Industry, thrift, and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.’

‘There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime.’

‘Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshiped.’

‘People criticize me for harping on the obvious. Perhaps someday I’ll write an article on The Importance of the Obvious. If all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves.’ “

Happy Birthday, President Reagan, and thank you for the years, Mr. Stone!

By the President of the United States of America

To the People of the United States:

     The death of Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1921, which occurred at 11:15 o’clock today at his home at Washington, District of Columbia, deprives the country of a most distinguished citizen, and is an even which causes universal and genuine sorrow. To many of us it brings the sense of a profound personal bereavement.

     His early profession as a lawyer was abandoned to enter academic life. In this chosen field he attained the highest rank as an educator, and has left his impress upon the intellectual thought of the country. From the Presidency of Princeton University he was called by his fellow citizens to be Chief Executive of the State of New Jersey. The duties of this high office hr so conducted  as to win the confidence of the people of the United States, who twice elected him to the Chief Magistracy of the Republic. As President of the United States he was moved by an earnest desire to promote the best interests of the country as he conceived them. His acts were prompted by high motives and his sincerity of purpose can not be questioned. He led the nation through the terrific struggle of the world war with a lofty idealism which never failed him. He gave utterance to the aspiration of humanity with an eloquence which held the attention of all the earth and made America a new and enlarged influence in the destiny of mankind.

     In testimony of the respect in which his memory is held by the Government and people of the United States, I do hereby direct that the flags of the White House and of the several Departmental buildings be displayed at half staff for a period of thirty days, and that suitable military and naval honors under orders of the Secretary of War and of the Secretary of the Navy may be rendered on the day of the funeral.

     Done at the City of Washington this third day of February, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Nine Hundred and Twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the One Hundred and Forty-eighth.

Since it is also Groundhog Day, we would be remiss if we did not note the ten lessons Paul Batura gleaned from Bill Murray’s 1993 classic film. They bear a distinct resemblance to Calvin Coolidge’s own outlook and some of his basic principles, especially when we take the time to unwrap his cogent phrases and discover how much he says in so few words.

Batura’s ten lessons are:

1. Small town people are full of big-time wisdom

“Country life does not always have breadth, but it has depth. It is neither artificial nor superficial, but is kept close to the realities” — Coolidge, Autobiography, p.33.

“We draw our Presidents from the people. It is a wholesome thing for them to return to the people. I came from them. I wish to be one of them again” — Autobiography, p.242.

2. Never stop being a student of your spouse

“For almost a quarter of a century she has borne with my infirmities, and I have rejoiced in her graces” — Autobiography, p.93.

“I have thought of you all the time since I left home” — Coolidge, last letter to Grace, his wife, during a brief trip to New York, fall 1932. As biographer Claude M. Fuess notes, for a man of his reticence, this was an “outburst of powerful emotion” (Calvin Coolidge, Man from Vermont, p.490).

3. It’s always a good time to ask what we want out of life

“It is a very old saying that you never can tell what you can do until you try. The more I see of life the more I am convinced of the wisdom of that observation. Surprisingly few men are lacking in capacity, but they fail because they are lacking in application. Either they never learn how to work, or, having learned, they are too indolent to apply themselves with the seriousness and the attention that is necessary to solve important problems. Any reward that is worth having only comes to the industrious. The success that is made in any walk of life is measured almost exactly by the hard work that is put into it” — Autobiography, p.171.

4. Happiness can be found in the very ordinary activities of life

“They criticize me for harping on the obvious. Perhaps someday I’ll write on…’The Importance of the Obvious.’ If all the folks in the United States would do the few simple things they know they ought to do, most of our big problems would take care of themselves” — Coolidge, “I’m a Private Citizen Now” by Bruce Barton, Meet Calvin Coolidge, p.191.

5. Misery is doing the same thing and expecting different results

“It is not dissatisfaction with our work but dissatisfaction with ourselves that is the cause of the unrest and discontent which is always manifesting itself in one form or another. We think we want to change our employment, when we really want to change ourselves” — Coolidge, ‘The Things That Are Unseen,’ June 19, 1923, The Price of Freedom, p.387.

6. Different can be good

“Progress depends very largely on the encouragement of variety…” — Coolidge, Toleration and Liberalism, October 6, 1925, Foundations of the Republic, p.296.

“All growth depends upon activity. Life is manifest only by action. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work” — Coolidge, Adequate Brevity, p.45.

7. Being attentive to people can save lives

“The realities of life are not measured by dollars and cents. The skill of the physician, the divine eloquence of the clergyman, the courage of the soldier, that which we call character in all men, are not matters of hire and salary. No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave” — Coolidge, Veto of Salary Increase, Have Faith in Massachusetts, p.84.

“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant” — Coolidge, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1925, Foundations of the Republic, p.201.

8. You could always use a little more life insurance

“A policy-holder is a better citizen. He has an interest in the well-being of the country that he has bought and paid for, a contract which guarantees a liberal payment to him and his beneficiaries. He is on the road toward some degree of economic independence and equality. He can work for the country with the assurance that the country is working for him. When persons qualify to vote they come into possession of a political estate in the nation, when they take out a policy they come into possession of a property estate in the nation. Insurance is of the essence of democracy” — Coolidge, ‘The Economics of Life Insurance,’ January 9, 1930.

9. Winter is just a season – summer will eventually come

“The ability to make the best of things, to secure progress, to learn from adversity is not to be disparaged or ignored. The creative energy of nature is not diminished but increased by the fallow season. Mankind requires a time for taking stock, for recuperation, for gathering energy for the next advance” — Coolidge, daily column, December 31, 1930

10. Seize the Day

“This universe into which we are born, with all its weaknesses and imperfections, yet with all its strength and progress, is the only one in which we can live, and we may as well make the best of it” — Coolidge, daily column, December 18, 1930

“When we come into the world the gate of gifts is closed behind us. We can do nothing about it. So far as each individual is concerned all he can do is to take the abilities he has and make the most of them. His power over the past is gone. His power over the future depends on what he does with himself in the present. If he wishes to live and progress he must work” — Coolidge, Autobiography, p.37.