Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence have "fallen out of favor" among Americans, with "progressivism" seeking to replace the document's premises and the United States' form of government.
Speaking Wednesday at the University of Texas Austin School of Law, Thomas delivered a critique of modern political trends, warning that the nation's founding principles are under increasing pressure from ideological shifts in academia and government.
"Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government," Thomas said, arguing that the movement rejects the idea that rights come from God and instead places authority in government institutions.
Thomas, the Supreme Court's longest-serving conservative justice, described a growing "cynicism, rejection, hostility, and animus" toward America's founding ideals.
He suggested many Americans no longer embrace the belief that all people are created equal and endowed with unalienable rights.
Drawing on the nation's founding framework, Thomas emphasized that the Constitution was designed to limit government power and protect individual liberties.
He pointed to principles such as separation of powers and federalism as safeguards against centralized authority and majority overreach.
Thomas said progressive ideology elevates government control over individual freedom.
He said this shift represents a departure from the Declaration’s vision, which holds that rights exist independent of government and must be preserved, not granted.
The justice also traced the roots of progressivism to early 20th-century figures such as President Woodrow Wilson, who advocated for a more expansive federal government and drew inspiration from European political models.
Thomas suggested that such ideas stand in direct conflict with the American tradition of limited government and individual sovereignty.
Thomas said history offers lessons about the dangers of abandoning natural rights, pointing to examples where powerful governments have suppressed individual freedoms.
He said the American system was structured to prevent such outcomes by restraining authority and empowering citizens.
At a time of deep political division, Thomas called on Americans to rediscover the courage and conviction of the nation's founders.
"In my view, we must find in ourselves that same level of courage that the signers of the Declaration have so that we can do for our future what they did for theirs," he said.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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