Reply to Thomas Jefferson - How do people feel about him today?

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[quote=Anonymous]He was a human being, who therefore was neither an infallible saint nor a devil wholly committed to evil.  Without a doubt, he committed acts of evil that should be condemned and not forgotten, but he also made contributions to our nation and our world which should be remembered and celebrated.

I appreciate the positive things he accomplished, denounce the evil he participated in, and recognize that he had a remarkable intellect, even if he sometimes employed it for reprehensible acts.

I think it is important that we judge the acts of individuals rather than naively trying to make summary judgements on rather a person is “good” or “bad”.  Human nature is far too complex, and everyone (including ourselves) is inevitably some sort of mixture.  By declaring others to be “bad”, we overlook the risk we each face of grave moral failures, ourselves.   Sure, we like to think of ourselves as good - maybe we love our families, give to charity, vote and pay our taxes, etc. - I’m sure Jefferson did as well. By the standards of his day, he was probably seen as reasonably upright, at least enough to be elected President.  But for all the good he did, he also did great evil, which is an object lesson for us all.  We must never forget the capacity for evil that lies within all of us, even the “good” people, even ourselves. We must remain ever vigilant to recognize it and not allow it to take root.  [/quote]

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