The Locke-Box

Over at Power Line, Steve Hayward asks “Are We Trapped in a Locke-box?” It is an interesting question, and the answer is quite straightforward: many are trapped in a John Locke-box when it comes to understanding our founding. There is good news though for those who are trapped: there is an easy escape. Simply going to a dictionary can set them in the right direction, and even take them most of the way out.

As it happens, I used the same image, the image of a Locke-box, in an article here at American Greatness : 

[T]he founders were declaring to the world they had broken out of the Locke-box. In our time, there is a steady stream of books and articles by conservatives trying to stuff them back in.

That effort to stuff the founders into the Locke-box has one big pay-off for those trying to do the stuffing: that steady stream of books and articles. There is a problem though. One reason the stream is unceasing is that into that box, the founders will not go.

Read Full Article »