In the tradition of Halifax and his admirers (e.g. Butterfield, Oakeshott, et al.), this blog is dedicated to the politics of skepticism (or anti-ideological politics, or even unprincipled politics, if you prefer).
13 November 2008
quote for the day
The Declaration of Independence I always considered as a Theatrical Show. John Adams
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Which is why Adams has sometimes been considered the most un-American of the Founders. I suppose Harry Jaffa isn't keen on Adams?
No, Jaffa wouldn't be very happy with Mr. Adams, but, as you might guess, I would rather be ruled by Adams. Despite my citizenship, passport, and other legal niceties, Mr. Jaffa wouldn't consider me to be very American, either. I would be one of the first thrown into the gulag under a Jaffaite rule of the virtuous (I would actually volunteer for the gulag of the Jaffaites ever took over).
In any case, Adams wasn't actually alone in this opinion. The notion that the Declaration was central to the founding generation is an anachronistic myth. (Jaffa doesn't let little things like historical facts bother him.) Pauline Maier's 'American Scripture' does a very good job of dealing with the place of the Declaration in the early Republic.
I don't belong to any club or group. I don't fish, cook, dance, endorse books, sign books, co-sign declarations, eat oysters,...go to church, go to analysts, or take part in demonstrations. V. Nabokov
2 comments:
Which is why Adams has sometimes been considered the most un-American of the Founders. I suppose Harry Jaffa isn't keen on Adams?
No, Jaffa wouldn't be very happy with Mr. Adams, but, as you might guess, I would rather be ruled by Adams. Despite my citizenship, passport, and other legal niceties, Mr. Jaffa wouldn't consider me to be very American, either. I would be one of the first thrown into the gulag under a Jaffaite rule of the virtuous (I would actually volunteer for the gulag of the Jaffaites ever took over).
In any case, Adams wasn't actually alone in this opinion. The notion that the Declaration was central to the founding generation is an anachronistic myth. (Jaffa doesn't let little things like historical facts bother him.) Pauline Maier's 'American Scripture' does a very good job of dealing with the place of the Declaration in the early Republic.
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