Thomas Jefferson at 265

Jean-Antoine Houdon’s Bust of Jefferson, 1789
Somewhere in this fine land, to-day or sometime this weekend there are Jefferson Day dinners taking place. Thomas Jefferson, the author, of The Declaration of Independence, and the founder of the party of the Democracy. Most of these tributes, may not give the appropriate time, of celebration and remembrance to this great man, and are there as money raisers for the local parties or particular candidates, men who, may or may not really, concern themselves with these great ideas this man championed.

Years ago, I read an essay in Time magazine*, that speculated on alternative routes of history. What if the British crown had crushed the rebellion in North America, and Tomasso Jefferson would be primarily remembered as a character in an eponymous Verdi opera. The ideals, that which americans crow and boast, that we are proud of, that others admire — are Jeffersonian. Truly, those ideals are greatly endangered under the current usurpation of the american state by tortfeasors, malfactors, frauds and corrupt incompetents who claim entitlement to rule.

To-day, the 13th†, is Tomasso’s birthday, though he may have recognised it as on the 2nd. It was still the time, when the english would rather disagree with the sun and the stars, than agree with the pope on what day it was. But, in a good number of things, we and he disagreed with the english. But. to-day, we should all celebrate political freedoms, while we still can, and recognise Tomasso’s contributions.
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* Yorktown: If the British Had Won by Gerald Clarke. 2 November 1981.
† 13 April 1829 Emancipation Act , where the english extended civil rights to catholics (an earlier attempt in 1780 was the cause of riotous murder and vandalism). Freedom is not often recognised and protected by law or the public. Tho. Jefferson died on Independence Day 1826.