Monday, May 16, 2011

The Pessimistic Thomas Jefferson

I was thinking about current events, and the extreme divergence of our government from The Constitution, and the dramatic infringement on private property rights at all levels of government, and it made me think of a couple of quotes from Thomas Jefferson:
The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground. ~ Thomas Jefferson
For whatever reasons, the government that Jefferson helped to design, is no longer working the way he and Madison, et. al., intended. I don't think he would be surprised, but I don't think he would be happy with the current situation either. I do think he would be surprised that what they created, lasted as long as it did.
When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe. ~ Thomas Jefferson
I think this describes our present situation. I wonder what kind of government the founders would have devised to counteract that, if any. Given that the founders believed that a virtuous populace and honest politicians were essential to self-government, I wonder if the necessary conditions for their constitutional republic still exist.

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