Here are two enjoyable examples of that great rarity: a humble political speech. Exhibit A is Calvin Coolidge addressing an American Legion convention in 1925, peppering his talk with humble homespun language and his own vision of what “America First” should mean. It’s a tour de force of peace over war (marred only by Cal’s approving depiction of growing US military power and expenditures), idealism over pettiness, charity over welfare, and civilization over statist destruction. He is particularly good at avoiding the Broken Window Fallacy with respect to the then-recent Great War: In a conflict with engaged all the major … Continue reading Humility From a Politician?