--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hence the American heritage and founding…" description: "\"“Hence the American heritage and founding principles must be thrust aside if there is to be human progress. They are dismissed as outmoded and obstruct..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61d/mark-r-levin-13287_human-progress_hence-the-american-heritage-and-founding_3109892.jpg" --- # Hence the American heritage and founding principles must… ![“Hence the American heritage and founding principles must be thrust aside if there is to be human progress. They are dismissed as outmoded and obstructive, impeding the pursuit of utopian ends, for they are unconnected to the present. Man,” quote by Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61d/mark-r-levin-13287_human-progress_hence-the-american-heritage-and-founding_3109892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61d/mark-r-levin-13287_human-progress_hence-the-american-heritage-and-founding_3109892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61d/mark-r-levin-13287_human-progress_hence-the-american-heritage-and-founding_3109892.jpg) > ““Hence the American heritage and founding principles must be thrust aside if there is to be human progress. They are dismissed as outmoded and obstructive, impeding the pursuit of utopian ends, for they are unconnected to the present. Man,”” [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that American foundational values hinder progress, suggesting they’re outdated and block utopian goals, thus should be set aside. **In simple terms:** Foundational values are seen as obstacles to future progress. Key Takeaway Question whether old principles block innovation. Themes politics progress tradition utopia Mood critical provocative Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - educational curricula - public forums - media commentary Key Concepts civic philosophy social evolution political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - What benefits might be lost by abandoning foundational principles? - Can progress be achieved without a shared value base? A Different Perspective Discarding core values may erode social cohesion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Heritage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-heritage-1029925/) [Founding Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/founding-principles-383857/) [Human progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-progress/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Progress Dismissed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress-dismissed-5427737/) ## Related quotes > [“The danger of rejecting America’s founding principles is illustrated best in this instance by Wilson himself. As is well documented, Wilson was an open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/the-danger-of-rejecting-america-s-founding-principles-is-illustrated/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [The intensive and concerted effort to exclude references to religion or God from public places is an attack on our founding principles. It's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-intensive-and-concerted-effort-to-exclude-references-to-religion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm proud of my Native American heritage,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/i-m-proud-of-my-native-american-heritage/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [There's something about my Mexican-American heritage... I'm proud of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-camargo/there-s-something-about-my-mexican-american-heritage-i-m-proud-of-it/) [Christian Camargo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-camargo/) > [November is Native American Heritage month, and a good time to honor the legacy of our ancestors, but every day we should stop to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-haaland/november-is-native-american-heritage-month-and-a-good-time-to-honor/) [Deb Haaland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-haaland/) > [Our American heritage is greater than any one of us. It can express itself in very homely truths; in the end it can lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/our-american-heritage-is-greater-than-any-one-of-us-it-can-express/) [Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/) > [I'm proud of my Latin American heritage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorenzo-lamas/i-m-proud-of-my-latin-american-heritage/) [Lorenzo Lamas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorenzo-lamas/) > [The American heritage was one of individual liberty, personal responsibility and freedom from government ... Unfortunately ... that heritage has been lost. Americans no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/the-american-heritage-was-one-of-individual-liberty-personal/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [My Italian-American heritage, of which I'm very proud and with which I identify strongly, surfaces in several of my novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/my-italian-american-heritage-of-which-i-m-very-proud-and-with-which-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/liberty-is-lost-through-complacency-and-a-subservient-mindset-when-we/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Asian Pacific American Heritage Month provides us all an opportunity to reflect upon this communitys many contributions and to celebrate its bright future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nydia-velazquez/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-provides-us-all-an-opportunity/) [Nydia Velazquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nydia-velazquez/) > [Think about the number of people who do film music, make records and have a Native American heritage - and I may be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-robertson/think-about-the-number-of-people-who-do-film-music-make-records-and/) [Robbie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-robertson/) > [Our American heritage is threatened as much by our own indifference as it is by the most unscrupulous office or by the most powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/our-american-heritage-is-threatened-as-much-by-our-own-indifference/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [It may be that my most helpful contributions to music aren't my compact discs but my articles about other great singers of the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-mccorkle/it-may-be-that-my-most-helpful-contributions-to-music-aren-t-my/) [Susannah McCorkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-mccorkle/) > [Asian Pacific American Heritage Month provides us all an opportunity to reflect upon this community's many contributions and to celebrate its bright future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nydia-velazquez/asian-pacific-american-heritage-month-provides-us-all-an-opportunity-2/) [Nydia Velazquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nydia-velazquez/) ## More by Mark R. Levin > [“Locke said, as have others, that natural law is forever and enduring, and man-made law, which may vary from place to place and time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/locke-said-as-have-others-that-natural-law-is-forever-and-enduring/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Again, for Wilson and the progressives, the American founding was simply a historical event distinct to its own moment and condition. Progress requires that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/again-for-wilson-and-the-progressives-the-american-founding-was/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“In utopia, rule by masterminds is both necessary and necessarily primitive, for it excludes so much that is known to man and about man.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/in-utopia-rule-by-masterminds-is-both-necessary-and-necessarily/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“THE END OF THE nineteenth century saw the rise of a movement thoroughly hostile to the underlying principles of the nation’s founding—the “Progressive Movement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/the-end-of-the-nineteenth-century-saw-the-rise-of-a-movement/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Dewey was a stern critic of capitalism and private property rights, which he condemned as a relic of early American principles reinforced in current…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/dewey-was-a-stern-critic-of-capitalism-and-private-property-rights/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Especially threatening, therefore, are the industrious, independent, and successful, for they demonstrate what is actually possible under current societal conditions—achievement, happiness, and fulfillment—thereby contradicting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/especially-threatening-therefore-are-the-industrious-independent-and/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“For Croly, the entire process of popular sovereignty exercised through representative republicanism, which led to the drafting, adoption, and ratification of the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/for-croly-the-entire-process-of-popular-sovereignty-exercised-through/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Equality, as understood by the American Founders, is the natural right of every individual to live freely under self-government, to acquire and retain the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/equality-as-understood-by-the-american-founders-is-the-natural-right/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Herbert Croly (1869–1930) was among the leading academic and progressive thinkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/herbert-croly-1869-1930-was-among-the-leading-academic-and/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“In a recurring theme among progressives, Croly condemned the Constitution’s separation of powers, a doctrine essential to averting centralized tyranny, as the main obstacle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/in-a-recurring-theme-among-progressives-croly-condemned-the/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“The danger of rejecting America’s founding principles is illustrated best in this instance by Wilson himself. As is well documented, Wilson was an open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/the-danger-of-rejecting-america-s-founding-principles-is-illustrated/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“if our rights are not unalienable, if they don’t come from a source higher than ourselves, then they’re malleable at the will of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/if-our-rights-are-not-unalienable-if-they-don-t-come-from-a-source/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Cicero argues that the source of justice, truth, virtue, etc.—in a word, morality—is natural law. It is permanent and supreme, unalterable by man or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/cicero-argues-that-the-source-of-justice-truth-virtue-etc-in-a-word/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“Moreover, the bureaucracy will be of the noblest and most virtuous sort, with no personal, political, or ideological agenda, motivated solely and completely by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/moreover-the-bureaucracy-will-be-of-the-noblest-and-most-virtuous/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) > [“In the civil society, the individual is recognized and accepted as more than an abstract statistic or faceless member of some group; rather, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-r-levin/in-the-civil-society-the-individual-is-recognized-and-accepted-as/) [Mark R. Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) [Explore all 51 Mark R. Levin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-r-levin/) ## More Human progress quotes > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [It is not the child as a physical but as a psychic being that can provide a strong impetus to the betterment of mankind.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-montessori/it-is-not-the-child-as-a-physical-but-as-a-psychic-being-that-can/) [Maria Montessori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-montessori/) > [War, and the preparation for war, are the two greatest obstacles to human progress, fostering a vicious cycle of arms buildups, violence and poverty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/war-and-the-preparation-for-war-are-the-two-greatest-obstacles-to/) [Oscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [Knowledge of Nature is an account at bank, where each dividend is added to the principal and the interest is ever compounded; and hence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grove-karl-gilbert/knowledge-of-nature-is-an-account-at-bank-where-each-dividend-is/) [Grove Karl Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grove-karl-gilbert/) > [“In order to build a truly wise society devoid of any kind of existential crisis, it is imperative that the individuals foster a healthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/in-order-to-build-a-truly-wise-society-devoid-of-any-kind-of/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Great steps in human progress are made by things that don't work the way philosophy thought they should. If things always worked the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/great-steps-in-human-progress-are-made-by-things-that-don-t-work-the/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [Alcoholism, the opium habit and tobaccoism are a trio of poison habits which have been weighty handicaps to human progress during the last three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-harvey-kellogg/alcoholism-the-opium-habit-and-tobaccoism-are-a-trio-of-poison-habits/) [John Harvey Kellogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-harvey-kellogg/) > [Thank God for the creative ideas that enrich life by adding your own creative contributions to human progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/thank-god-for-the-creative-ideas-that-enrich-life-by-adding-your-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The releasing of attachment to object and certain beliefs was already indelibly written as a very necessary step in my human progress toward being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlo-morgan/the-releasing-of-attachment-to-object-and-certain-beliefs-was-already/) [Marlo Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlo-morgan/) > [The whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the Bible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-seward/the-whole-hope-of-human-progress-is-suspended-on-the-ever-growing/) [William H. Seward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-seward/) > [The brain is conceded to be the master organ of the body, the regulator of life, the source of human progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-tilney/the-brain-is-conceded-to-be-the-master-organ-of-the-body-the/) [Frederick Tilney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-tilney/) > [“Of the Wobblies, most probably, but not just them. Of hope, perhaps, that her country might rise to the challenge, might override the legacies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-downing/of-the-wobblies-most-probably-but-not-just-them-of-hope-perhaps-that/) [David Downing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-downing/) > [To be sure, the doctrine of a personal God interfering with natural events could never be refuted, in the real sense, by science, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/to-be-sure-the-doctrine-of-a-personal-god-interfering-with-natural/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“Without constructive skepticism, without human progress.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-zhu/without-constructive-skepticism-without-human-progress/) [Pearl Zhu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-zhu/) [Browse all 210 Human progress quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-progress/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hence the American heritage and founding principles must be thrust aside if there is to be human progress. 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