Our freedom comes from a distinct heritage, including the Babylonian Hammurabi’s Code, the Hebrews’ Ten Commandments, the Athenian Constitutions of Solon & Cleisthenes, the Roman Republic’s Twelve Tables, Jesus’ Golden Rule, the Byzantine Justinian’s Code, the English Magna Carta, Luther & Calvin’s ideas in the Protestant Reformation, Ignatius of Loyola’s Catholic counter-arguments, John Locke’s English Bill of Rights, and the philosophies of Rousseau, Montesquieu, and Jefferson. Our freedom has since matured alongside and in competition with the ideas of Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Sartre, and Derrida.
This heritage is crucial to both Progressives & Conservatives, reminding us that what unites us is more important than what divides us.
Progressives need to understand the unique history of protracted and successful self-scrutiny, constructive criticism, and social reform that characterizes Western Civilization. No other culture is so eager to rip itself apart and reinvent itself in order to bring positive change. Today’s Progressivism comes from the West’s unique reform tradition.
Conservatives, who purport to be defenders of tradition, should deeply understand that tradition that makes both the United States and the West exceptional.
Restore the West 