I was going through my camera today when I stumbled on a few photos from my recent trip to Washington, D.C. with my Dad. While there, I checked out the Jefferson Memorial, and even though Texans won’t know who he was in 15 years or so, he was a pretty important dude. In addition to being a rather talented writer, he served as President, and among other things, repealed the tax on whiskey. As awesome as that trivia is, my mind wasn’t on triple malts that day, but instead, I particularly zeroed in on one of the quotes on the walls of the beautiful temple erected in his honor:
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
Word up, TJ. In light of the big demonstrations lately against pretty much everything that are erroneously equating hating with the intent of the original patriots (not to be confused with the team of the Decade New England Patriots), I’m a bit confused about the logic to the protests. This also can be encapsulated by all the brouhaha over the appointment Obama is about to make to the Supreme Court. It boggles the mind that people think our Founding Fathers (and no doubt their wives and other female influences) were so above reproach, so infallible, that they only nailed the original document like a split hog, but that they would be imbued with a foresight that extended hundreds of years into the future. They didn’t anticipate spaceflight, weapons that could be fired more than once every two minutes, the public emergence of homosexuality in America, and myriad other issues. Now, those who know me well can guess my viewpoints on many of the hot topics of the day. However, I’m going to pull an MJ on this issue and stay away from advocating specific policy decisions. However, isn’t it about time that we moved our political discourse forward? By all means, let’s continue to honor the great heroes behind the independence movement in America by naming roads after them, building ginormous monuments to them, and offering ludicrously low car finance rates on their birthdays, and keeping them alive in our textbooks and hearts. However, when it comes to the present day, let’s actually listen to what they say about making and refining law. On a lighter note, Paris pics to come soon!
