In a recent post I quoted Allan Bloom from The Closing of the American Mind His comment was about democracy's particular weakness. It's weakness is disgust for the theoretical life. It's true. Americans are very allergic to examining their motivations. They "reason" like this: if it works, go for it. They are pragmatists, through and through. And that is why "statism" is in the way. But, you know, statism works for them too, when the going is good. But we should recognize that whatever P. wants to say about our disgust, the reason of unreason has a special place in the pragmatist's heart.
When we get into the animating principles, such as the Declaration of Independence, I get less comfortable about citing them as sure priciples and guides because as that document was written as a justification and appeal to the world in general, it contained phrasing meant to invoke a variety of meanings in a variety of readers-- and it still does today, often to our consternation.
This is why it is always worthwile for libertarian-conservatives and traditional-conservatives to set those two extremes that we both have in our ranks aside and see what common purpose can be made. I believe that the forerunners of both traditions did so and the time of the Republic's founding and can, and must, do so again today.