citizenship

“Why I Am A Republican”

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“Why I Am A Republican”

The recent statement of Mr. Elbert Guillory explaining his change of support for the historical principles of the Republican Party echoes many of the thoughts expressed by our thirtieth President, Calvin Coolidge. He would have stood with this man, an American who understands the duties of freedom, to advance our common cause of citizenship. As Coolidge would say back in 1922, “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. The successful conduct of our economic life is not easy. It cannot be made easy. The burdens of existence, the weight of civilization, cannot be taken from the people.” The government that promises to lift such burdens cannot and never will. It will only result in further loss to people’s liberty in the name of protection.

Coolidge would assess difficulties not unlike what we now face, “The final solution of these problems will not be found in the interposition of government in all the affairs of the people, but rather in following the wisdom of [George] Washington, who refused to exercise authority over the people, that the people might exercise authority over themselves.” Addressing men and women at Howard University he spoke with the fullest confidence in individuals just like Mr. Guillory to embrace the opportunities of self-government and to realize the potential freedom holds from all forms of enslavement, mental as well as physical. He would champion the example of folks like Mr. Guillory without pretense or condescension, when he said, “The Nation has need of all that can be contributed to it through the best efforts of all its citizens…We can not go out from this place and occasion without refreshment of faith and renewal of confidence that in every exigency our Negro fellow citizens will render the best and fullest measure of service whereof they are capable.”

That service, seen in the examples of Senator Guillory, Dr. King, Dr. Robert Moton, Justice Thomas and Dr. Carson (to name but a few), is not to preserve the “masters” of the Democrat Party establishment, to prop up dependance on Washington (or bondage to any administration for that matter) but is living up to the highest ideals of American citizenship. It is an expression of the spirit of self-reliance, a fulfillment of duty to God and family, and a giving of one’s self in civic participation, that makes our freedom possible.

On Citizen-Soldiers

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As yesterday marked the 238th anniversary of the United States Army, it is worthy of remembering that it stands strongly today as a force of volunteers. They are citizens who stand in readiness to defend us and our liberties, uphold America’s sense of obligation to others, and fight for real peace. They, more than anyone else, yearn for lasting peace but they also know it requires the will to wage war on evil. The example is one of duty, not privilege; service, not benefits. This force of Americans demonstrates that liberty requires more than merely the enjoyment of one’s freedoms but the giving of self to retain and perpetuate the high estate of being American. Coolidge would explain our voluntary example of citizenship this way in a letter written in July 1924,

“Our country has always relied chiefly for its defence upon the readiness of its patriotic manhood to take up arms when necessity presented. After the great military effort of the United States in the World War, our army was demobilized more rapidly and completely than that of any other warring nation.” As Coolidge said earlier that same year, however, “The ways of our people are the ways of peace. They naturally seek ways to make peace more secure.”

He understood that our military exemplifies to the world a character diametrically opposite to world powers of the past. America’s volunteer army demonstrates that peace comes not through policies of conquest and occupation, such traits do not define the citizen-soldier. Peace is attained, not at any price, but by summoning both the will to sacrifice for it in battle and the discipline to live it when the fight is done. America’s citizen-soldiers, in striving for peace while willing to wage war, have demonstrated this “impossible” ideal to the world for almost two-hundred and forty years. For that they deserve our gratitude and enduring respect.

“America and the War,” 1920

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“America and the War,” 1920

In this speech recorded for the campaign of 1920, Calvin Coolidge addresses the national transition that followed the conclusion of war the previous year and what makes a strong basis for peace. He reflects upon the high inheritance of American citizenship and our firm defense of liberty. He then calls us to remember that it is in the exercise of moral power, the selfless service we render to each other as fellow citizens, that constitutes progress.

The text of the message is as follows:

“Works which endure come from the soul of the people. The mighty in their pride walk alone to destruction. The humble walk hand in hand with providence to immortality. Their works survive.

“When the people of the colonies were defending their liberties against the might of kings, they chose their banner from the design set in the firmament through all eternity. The flags of great empires of that day have gone, but the stars and stripes remain. It pictures a vision of a people whose eyes are turned to the rising dawn. It represents of the hope of a father for his posterity. It was never flaunted for the glory of royalty, but to be born under it is to be the child of a king, and to establish a home under it is to be the founder of a royal house. Alone of all flags, it expresses the sovereignty of the people which endures when all else passes away. Speaking with their voice, it has the sanctity of revelations. He who lives under it and disloyal to it is a traitor to the human race everywhere. What could be saved if the flag of the American nation were to perish?

“America has many glories. The last one that she would wish to surrender is the glory of the men who have served her in war. While such devotion lives, the nation is secure. Whatever dangers may threaten from within or without, she can view them calmly. Turning to her veterans, she can say: ‘These are our defenders. They are invincible. In them is our safety.’ 

“After more than five years of the bitterest war in human experience, the last great stronghold of force surrendering to the demands of America and her allies agreed to cast aside the sword and live under the law. America decided that the path of the Mayflower should not be closed. She decided to sail the seas. She decided to sail not under an Edict of Potsdam, cramped in narrow lands, seeking safety in unarmed merchant men painted in fantastic hues as the badge of an infinite servitude; but she decided to sail under the ancient Declaration of Independence, choosing her own course, maintaining security by the guns of her ships of the LINE, flying at the mast the stars and stripes forever, the emblem of a militant liberty.

“With peace has come prosperity. Burdens have been great, but the strength to bear them has been greater. The condition of those who toil is higher, better, more secure than in all the ages past. Out of the darkness of a great conflict has appeared the vision of a nearer, clearer than ever before, the life on earth and less under the deadening restraint of course more and more under the vitalizing influence of reason. Moral power has been triumphing over physical power. Education will tend to bring reason and experience of the past into the solution of the problems of the future. We must look to service and not selfishness, for service is the foundation of progress. The greatest lesson that we have to learn is to seek ever the public welfare, to build up, to maintain our American heritage.”