Notable Quote - Calvin Coolidge on the Proper Role of Government - Granite Grok

Notable Quote – Calvin Coolidge on the Proper Role of Government

I was in a Facebook discussion a couple of days ago when I was asked which one of the Presidents was one of my favorites – it is “Silent Cal” (emphasis mine):

Under this weight [of ever larger government] the former accuracy of administration breaks down.  The government has not at its disposal a supply of ability, honesty, and character necessary for the solution of all these problems, or an executive capacity great enough for their perfect administration.  Nor is it in possession of a wisdom which enables it to take in great enterprises and manage them with no ground of criticism.  We cannot rid ourselves of the human element in our affairs by an act of legislation which places them under a jurisdiction of a public commission. . .  Its attempt must be accompanied with the full expectation of very many failures. . .

…Behind very many of these enlarging activities lies the untenable theory that there is some short cut to perfection.  It is conceived that there can be a horizontal elevation of the standards of the nation, immediate and perceptible, by the simple device of new laws.  This has never been the case in human experience.

– Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States

Prescient words of wisdom that are now coming true as Government has traded nimble for lumbering, for doing few things well to doing much poorly, and as it moves from being the public servant to being the public masters.  Progressives ignore the quiet words of constraint and in their hubris, have decided that Government can and should do all, never stating where their religion of The Technocratic State has more intelligence, empathy, and wisdom from those in the public.  Instead of persuasion, they must use force and coercion of The State, for Freedom demands that everyone should decide for themselves – and that cannot be allowed to interfere with The Plan or The Goal for the Common Good.

(H/T: Powerline)

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