This country as a free republic as set forth by the constitution is seriously on it's death bed. I have no faith that the direction it is going now will change. The Millennials and racist minorities have taken full charge.
I love THOMAS JEFFERSON. Writing of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE was certainly absolution of his slave ownership. HE INHERITED those slaves. He, himself, never purchased a human being. Absurdly, trying to hold him accountable in today’s culture measurements, and denigrating him is outrageously ignorant and creates cloud of question that will only harm humanity.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
I imagine as a child - he longed for his slaves to be free. And he freed all slaves at his death.
The Civil Rights Act was accomplished in 1962 (?), so any art prior is “sinful”. I will miss the statue of Jefferson. Perhaps I should say we are all Jefferson now, condemned to future judgment based on a morality not yet in place. That the totality of Jefferson is his ownership of slaves at a time when that was the norm; is to deny Jefferson’s contributions as a part of our history.
If Jefferson is to be vilified and banned, then the stain of slavery is a serious matter. If that is the case, why are these activists not shining a light onto countries where slavery exists today?
In SF, we have an on-going discussion of “relics”, public art that the woke want to remove. The Geothe Institute at the German Consulate e-mailed me an announcement per their weekly or monthly newsletter. I responded that having attended one discussion years ago, that I consider the framing to be version 2.0 of “Degenerate Art”, where the superior people explain why selected art is inferior. I also advised Geothe that a coherent philosophy needs foundation rules to which all practitioners obey moving forward instead of reasons why something is bad or good.
Pray to God that he shows us grace and mercy. These people believe the only way to right the oppression of the past is to oppress in the present and future. There is no end to the wrong doing.
The statue was commissioned by one the first Jewish Naval officers as a thank you for Jefferson's insuring religious freedom in the U.S. military. It has stood in the same spot for nearly 200 years. It certainly didn't impede New Yorkers from fighting and dying in the Civil War, it didn't stop us from surviving a great depression and two world wars, the statue didn't hinder millions of immigrants landing in NYC, civil rights, LGBTQ movements, rebuilding after 9/11. Quite the opposite, Jefferson insured that the best America could accomplish would be possible!
The statue is part of the historical fabric my city, right where it is. They could always add statues to the council chamber that offer a different perspective on history, but of course, it's much easier to just knock everything down.
While I consider the removal of Jefferson to be almost tragic to our national sense of purpose and identity, I’m also quite ready to dismiss hysterical reactions comparing this to a communist takeover of our history and national creed. As a lifelong New Yorker, I know the City Council to be a nest of underachieving nitwits who accomplish little with the small level of power they have, Therefor they must compensate for their political weakness by taking positions on cultural issues they know nothing about. The NY CIty Council is as relevant to our nations political culture as a can of beans. They are a silly distraction from the essential job we have; protecting our national democracy from Trumpian/Authoritarian Republicans coup supporters.
Rolling Stone probably leans fairly well Left. But likely this pretty accurate preview of what's gonna come out eventually. This may SURPRISE some people who choose to read it and weep.
Never claimed I was less ignorant than anybody else, as this case proves. But if anybody read this and STILL thinks statue should come down, then THAT person is ignorant beyond saving, and everything they think, say, or do is SUSPECT.
Just a quick observation that I thought about yesterday. I'm guessing (GUESSING) somewhere around 80 - 85% of the posters here are Republican. No problem with that. As often happens when there is a one-sided majority. THe Democrats get shamed for various reasons, including voting for Biden.
I've made the politics I own pretty clear, many times. I won't swear I'll stick to my current opinions three years from now. PROBABLY, but I may not be alive then, which case: So what?
But what I HAVEN'T see in ALL these posts over last month or two, is a SINGLE person expressing regret that they voted for Trump. Funny that. That would seem to be either a) mathematically impossible or b) bad case of mass dissociation from Reality that he's at LEAST as awful as Biden, if not a fair bit MOREso.
Opinions will vary, but for one thing the idea that a REALITY TV STAR has even a SINGLE quality that would make him capable of becoming the Leader of the Free World? Well, I've seen people here post that I like, but that's generally my Way. I like people, for reasons of my own. Rational people. Express themselves well.
Still, it beggars MY imagination to think Trump's experience in the business world would help him be Presidential. Him being a BILLIONAIRE would disqualify him right off the bat for me. Same with all the rest-a them BILLIONAIRES.
Granted, Trump played the part well. So what?
I was flying by somewhere and I think it was RW who said something to effect that center-left or center-right would have to come together. May have been someone else. Memory...
True though. Neither one on own can take on the likes of Panorama, the biz of Garlands relation. The billionaire transgenders who are attempting, and succeeding to wipe out the NOTION of biological women? And them using that as a first STEP to Transhumanism?
I didn't think I'd live long enough to see the HORRORS of this new SPECIES of so-called "Humans" these folks are conjuring up. Today.. Right NOW... I'm not at all comfortable that this will be the case.
I can still say, "Ah well... Still not set in stone."
But as far as people, who THEORETICALLY control this Democracy "for the people, by the people" actually coming together in big enough numbers? Your guess is as good as mine.
The liberal nut jobs are the reason for all this bullshit. When we stop writing about all of it and actually do something about it we can make a difference. I read the same kind of stories week after week but no actions to stop any of it. If the people who write these stories would get out and work against these liberal assholes instead of complaining about them, I’m ready to help.
I'm open to suggestions, myself. I would just like to distinguish between liberal assholes and the Priests, Preistesses and acolytes of the Fundamentalist Wokeianity religion, is all.
I just heard about Andrew Yang having a new political party, but know nothing about it, so far.
Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" asserting "All men are created equal" and "Endowed with certain unalienable rights" is the greatest vision statement in the history of civilization, IMO. This statement, being aspirational, should be judged by its intentions and direction; its compass heading. Practically no one, certainly no political entity lived it at the time, and judging by today's woke hyper-racist identity politics, the elite refuse to do so today.
Some eighty-five years after the Founders declared this vision, a white majority of northerners defeated the secessionist Confederacy in our Civil War (1861-1865) and settled the question that "men" included emancipated slaves constitutionally. Jefferson's desire to end slavery was finally realized legally.
Some 154 years after the Declaration, the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote perfected this vision to include a political equality for women.
Some two hundred years since Jefferson's vision-cast, we celebrate the legal equality of sexual orientation generally.
We enjoy these masterful freedoms because we sit on Thomas Jefferson's shoulders. His brilliance and genius made our blessings imaginable. The last full measure of many battle-lost lives have purchased the freedom we now enjoy.
So to repudiate Jefferson is simply asinine. It is not hypocritical to aspire to live beyond ones capabilities; it is human. Everyone that lives a life worth living is animated by lofty ideals -- Divine ideals.
The anti-racist woke are, in fact, so hyper-racist they make the antebellum slave owner blush with envy.
Yet, most Americans by far live integrated, colorblind lives. We have over two generations of integrated armed services, where all races have each other's backs in combat. We've elected a president of color twice, notwithstanding his distain for American exceptionalism. That America is systematically, organically racist is a a grand lie and con and gaslighting fiction.
Let's cut to the chase. The NY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS who supported this move have a visceral hatred of America. God only knows what they would do if they had unfettered power.
Many good points by SG, thanks. I have heard many times about the NYTimes family being involved with slavery, don't know for sure, since it was not covered in the history of slavery, along with other history of slavery.
What I find fascinating is just how far the right is removed from this. These fights, as Bari's recent column pointed out, are fight between the progressive left and the woke left. The Republican party is too busy focusing on maintaining power that they have wholesale handed the culture to the left.
This country as a free republic as set forth by the constitution is seriously on it's death bed. I have no faith that the direction it is going now will change. The Millennials and racist minorities have taken full charge.
I love THOMAS JEFFERSON. Writing of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE was certainly absolution of his slave ownership. HE INHERITED those slaves. He, himself, never purchased a human being. Absurdly, trying to hold him accountable in today’s culture measurements, and denigrating him is outrageously ignorant and creates cloud of question that will only harm humanity.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
I imagine as a child - he longed for his slaves to be free. And he freed all slaves at his death.
I'd ask if they'd also cancel MLK for his sexual indiscretions, but they've already done a complete 180 from his ideals so it's a moot point.
The Civil Rights Act was accomplished in 1962 (?), so any art prior is “sinful”. I will miss the statue of Jefferson. Perhaps I should say we are all Jefferson now, condemned to future judgment based on a morality not yet in place. That the totality of Jefferson is his ownership of slaves at a time when that was the norm; is to deny Jefferson’s contributions as a part of our history.
If Jefferson is to be vilified and banned, then the stain of slavery is a serious matter. If that is the case, why are these activists not shining a light onto countries where slavery exists today?
In SF, we have an on-going discussion of “relics”, public art that the woke want to remove. The Geothe Institute at the German Consulate e-mailed me an announcement per their weekly or monthly newsletter. I responded that having attended one discussion years ago, that I consider the framing to be version 2.0 of “Degenerate Art”, where the superior people explain why selected art is inferior. I also advised Geothe that a coherent philosophy needs foundation rules to which all practitioners obey moving forward instead of reasons why something is bad or good.
Pray to God that he shows us grace and mercy. These people believe the only way to right the oppression of the past is to oppress in the present and future. There is no end to the wrong doing.
The statue was commissioned by one the first Jewish Naval officers as a thank you for Jefferson's insuring religious freedom in the U.S. military. It has stood in the same spot for nearly 200 years. It certainly didn't impede New Yorkers from fighting and dying in the Civil War, it didn't stop us from surviving a great depression and two world wars, the statue didn't hinder millions of immigrants landing in NYC, civil rights, LGBTQ movements, rebuilding after 9/11. Quite the opposite, Jefferson insured that the best America could accomplish would be possible!
The statue is part of the historical fabric my city, right where it is. They could always add statues to the council chamber that offer a different perspective on history, but of course, it's much easier to just knock everything down.
While I consider the removal of Jefferson to be almost tragic to our national sense of purpose and identity, I’m also quite ready to dismiss hysterical reactions comparing this to a communist takeover of our history and national creed. As a lifelong New Yorker, I know the City Council to be a nest of underachieving nitwits who accomplish little with the small level of power they have, Therefor they must compensate for their political weakness by taking positions on cultural issues they know nothing about. The NY CIty Council is as relevant to our nations political culture as a can of beans. They are a silly distraction from the essential job we have; protecting our national democracy from Trumpian/Authoritarian Republicans coup supporters.
Rolling Stone probably leans fairly well Left. But likely this pretty accurate preview of what's gonna come out eventually. This may SURPRISE some people who choose to read it and weep.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-jan-6-protest-organizers-003326225.html
TY M. Weiss for "Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII: Manners." https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/notes-on-the-state-of-virginia-query-xviii-manners/
Never claimed I was less ignorant than anybody else, as this case proves. But if anybody read this and STILL thinks statue should come down, then THAT person is ignorant beyond saving, and everything they think, say, or do is SUSPECT.
But, mainly, TYTY.
Just a quick observation that I thought about yesterday. I'm guessing (GUESSING) somewhere around 80 - 85% of the posters here are Republican. No problem with that. As often happens when there is a one-sided majority. THe Democrats get shamed for various reasons, including voting for Biden.
I've made the politics I own pretty clear, many times. I won't swear I'll stick to my current opinions three years from now. PROBABLY, but I may not be alive then, which case: So what?
But what I HAVEN'T see in ALL these posts over last month or two, is a SINGLE person expressing regret that they voted for Trump. Funny that. That would seem to be either a) mathematically impossible or b) bad case of mass dissociation from Reality that he's at LEAST as awful as Biden, if not a fair bit MOREso.
Opinions will vary, but for one thing the idea that a REALITY TV STAR has even a SINGLE quality that would make him capable of becoming the Leader of the Free World? Well, I've seen people here post that I like, but that's generally my Way. I like people, for reasons of my own. Rational people. Express themselves well.
Still, it beggars MY imagination to think Trump's experience in the business world would help him be Presidential. Him being a BILLIONAIRE would disqualify him right off the bat for me. Same with all the rest-a them BILLIONAIRES.
Granted, Trump played the part well. So what?
I was flying by somewhere and I think it was RW who said something to effect that center-left or center-right would have to come together. May have been someone else. Memory...
True though. Neither one on own can take on the likes of Panorama, the biz of Garlands relation. The billionaire transgenders who are attempting, and succeeding to wipe out the NOTION of biological women? And them using that as a first STEP to Transhumanism?
I didn't think I'd live long enough to see the HORRORS of this new SPECIES of so-called "Humans" these folks are conjuring up. Today.. Right NOW... I'm not at all comfortable that this will be the case.
I can still say, "Ah well... Still not set in stone."
But as far as people, who THEORETICALLY control this Democracy "for the people, by the people" actually coming together in big enough numbers? Your guess is as good as mine.
The liberal nut jobs are the reason for all this bullshit. When we stop writing about all of it and actually do something about it we can make a difference. I read the same kind of stories week after week but no actions to stop any of it. If the people who write these stories would get out and work against these liberal assholes instead of complaining about them, I’m ready to help.
I'm open to suggestions, myself. I would just like to distinguish between liberal assholes and the Priests, Preistesses and acolytes of the Fundamentalist Wokeianity religion, is all.
I just heard about Andrew Yang having a new political party, but know nothing about it, so far.
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/10/andrew-yang-forward-party-book-third-way-radical-centrism-platitudes-rhetoric
I take article against Yang about 95% accurate so, for me anyway, naw...
Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" asserting "All men are created equal" and "Endowed with certain unalienable rights" is the greatest vision statement in the history of civilization, IMO. This statement, being aspirational, should be judged by its intentions and direction; its compass heading. Practically no one, certainly no political entity lived it at the time, and judging by today's woke hyper-racist identity politics, the elite refuse to do so today.
Some eighty-five years after the Founders declared this vision, a white majority of northerners defeated the secessionist Confederacy in our Civil War (1861-1865) and settled the question that "men" included emancipated slaves constitutionally. Jefferson's desire to end slavery was finally realized legally.
Some 154 years after the Declaration, the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote perfected this vision to include a political equality for women.
Some two hundred years since Jefferson's vision-cast, we celebrate the legal equality of sexual orientation generally.
We enjoy these masterful freedoms because we sit on Thomas Jefferson's shoulders. His brilliance and genius made our blessings imaginable. The last full measure of many battle-lost lives have purchased the freedom we now enjoy.
So to repudiate Jefferson is simply asinine. It is not hypocritical to aspire to live beyond ones capabilities; it is human. Everyone that lives a life worth living is animated by lofty ideals -- Divine ideals.
The anti-racist woke are, in fact, so hyper-racist they make the antebellum slave owner blush with envy.
"All men are created equal," but not all are treated as equals!
Slavery and Jim Crow concentrated workers of color in chronically undervalued occupations.
New Deal programs helped institutionalize racial disparities in wages and benefits.
The underfunding and limited scope of anti-discrimination agencies perpetuate inequality
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2019/08/07/472910/systematic-inequality-economic-opportunity/
Yet, most Americans by far live integrated, colorblind lives. We have over two generations of integrated armed services, where all races have each other's backs in combat. We've elected a president of color twice, notwithstanding his distain for American exceptionalism. That America is systematically, organically racist is a a grand lie and con and gaslighting fiction.
Only capable of YAH!
From Pittsburgh, my sportscaster brother John has written this substack column arguing that we need to be erecting some more statures -- of the conservative heroes. https://johnsteigerwald.substack.com/p/we-need-more-statues?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo5NDQ3NjE0LCJwb3N0X2lkIjo0MzAwMjU1NCwiXyI6IkJuemtEIiwiaWF0IjoxNjM1MDEyNDc3LCJleHAiOjE2MzUwMTYwNzcsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0yMzIxMTIiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.ENWLsGW8Os_QzbS--4_V171OdAWPHiud9SyKxmRY3hw
Let's cut to the chase. The NY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS who supported this move have a visceral hatred of America. God only knows what they would do if they had unfettered power.
Many good points by SG, thanks. I have heard many times about the NYTimes family being involved with slavery, don't know for sure, since it was not covered in the history of slavery, along with other history of slavery.
Did we or did we not, put the Afgans back into Slavery in the year 2021? Just ask Malala, she is in England for now.
What I find fascinating is just how far the right is removed from this. These fights, as Bari's recent column pointed out, are fight between the progressive left and the woke left. The Republican party is too busy focusing on maintaining power that they have wholesale handed the culture to the left.