The Abject Wisdom and Grotesquery of Thomas Jefferson and us all

Upon reviewing a PBS documentary illuminating the life and time of Thomas Jefferson, it became clear at almost the speed of light that Jefferson was in every way an enlightened visionary writing the high-minded and the most pure form of government-then or now-to be a beckon for the ages (or until party politics and narrow, lobby interests circumvent the foundations of the republic). 

"We hold these truths that all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  These words of hope cascade through the ages greeting new generation after new generation of Americans to the perversely virtuous declarations of pre-America.  Having seen one of the original copies of the Declaration, one can attest to the truly seminal work of Jefferson and his fellow patriots.   If Jefferson were alive today, would he be able to rise above petty party politics and all the mundane that divides this country to guide us in the pursuit of the better angels of our nature?  Would the hatemongers and warmongers of today strangle that idyllic message from ever seeing the dawn of day?

While Jefferson's pen was more might than a bunker-busting bomb, his positions on race relations, sine qua non for his time, were equally destructive.  He was openly and unabashedly backwards in his thinking and position on slavery.  African Americans, 20% of the population at the time, were not included in the "all men are created equal" clause due to strong opposition from the Southern political forces based on the prevailing economic system of the South.  Jefferson actually spent time to compose a piece on the inferiority of the African American race.  What an abject miscarriage of time!  While Jefferson was more of a moderate on this issue compared to his contemporaries, he still was not part what should have been the original Coalition of the Willing.  The self-evident truth of the Declaration would not be fully realized until Lincoln, and later, King would compel the nation to afford ALL citizens the right to pursue happiness.

In this juxtaposition that is Jefferson, there is hope.  We, the people, can rise above their carnal and beastly predilections to contribute something great, serving as a foundation for the brotherhood of humanity.