Calvin Coolidge Speech that applies today

On July 5, 1926, in a speech in Philadelphia commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, President Calvin Coolidge reminded Americans of the importance of this document. Part of his speech is below and it is interesting that although he was speaking 83 years ago, what it says actually applies to today.

“No other theory is adequate to explain or comprehend the Declaration of Independence. It is the product of the spiritual insight of people. We live in an age of science and of abounding accumulation of material things. These did not create our Declaration. Our Declaration created them. The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren scepter in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy. We must follow the spiritual and moral leadership which they showed. We must keep replenished, that they may glow with a more compelling flame, the altar fires before which they worshiped.”