Thomas Jefferson: One Man, Two Legacies

It’s painful to speculate how different our history might have been, the altered quotient of human suffering in this country, and the world, if Jefferson, Washington and Madison had freed their slaves.

[commondreams.org]

{American Interests becomes too often a euphemism for crimes against humanity, racism, anti-democratic movements. We use the term American Interests to betray Jefferson’s ideals, just as he did.}

{We are told that our lifestyle depends on such contradictory behavior, and we accept it, just as Jefferson did. Because we put the word ‘American’ in front of the word ‘Interests,’ it’s OK. More than OK; it’s patriotic.}

{The arch of ideals can exist only where justice, equality and truth flourish. The second only where power and profit are given priority over ideals. The latter one leads to injustice, inequality and propaganda as the price of doing business. In the face of power, ideals can seem naive and quaint, necessarily irrelevant to people making real world decisions.}

Places in Europe, South and Central Latin America were already attempting to reset before this pandemic struck. Movements swept under the capitalist rug now that it's here. But their's move on while we in the Us have been well behind caught in fear. The reset isn't going to come from either establishment party. It's time to look for another menu.