Thomas Jefferson; Things I Never Knew

There are thousands of true things one can say about Jefferson which are high praise. But Jefferson was also a human being. Thus he was imperfect. He preached better than he practiced as all of us are wont to do. Thus, some of his statements sound ironic when viewed in historical perspective.

For example, he said that all free men should be allowed to have arms. But he kept slaves who were not free and whom he would never have considered arming. He said that government should not pile up debts to be paid by future generations but he lived and died in debt since he could not control his own spending.

So do praise Jefferson for his many virtues and his many good works. But do not make of him a saint, perfect in every respect lest you make his ideals as fragile as rigid glass. The Declaration of Independence is a monumental achievement (which was edited by others before it was adopted) for which Jefferson is rightly acclaimed. But Jefferson does not have to be a paragon of virtue for the ideals so well expressed in the Declaration to be true.