Notable Quotable: Thomas Jefferson On Aristocracy
On October 28, 1813, in his letter to John Adams, Thomas Jefferson said:
“I agree with you that there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are virtue and talents. There is also an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents. The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government, and provision should be made to prevent its ascendancy.”
If such a provision was ever made, our leaders abandoned it long ago, but most American citizens did not.
We the people showed up at polling places with feet vibrantly planted in democracy and hearts eager to rebel against the fake aristocracy that continues to snub its nose at the needs of the people while flaunting its exorbitant malice and corruption without fear of consequence.
The voices of our founding fathers faded long ago, but yesterday they haunted us enough to ignite a fatal rebuke of the flamboyant cruelty governing the land, leaving a majority of Americans feeling new hope for our nation’s future.
Wonderland
I only closely watched one race. I prayed that Jay Jones would lose. Unfortunately, he won. I feel very sad for our country.
Evangel
We appreciate your heartfelt comment. Jay Jones is one example of the “mischievous ingredient” in government that Jefferson spoke of. But there is no provision to prevent his ascendancy.
In America’s irascible political climate, violent speech, depraved as it is, has become normalized. Still, it’s considered unacceptable from our leaders. Yet, instances of such speech from any elected official will promptly be lambasted as deranged by one party, and dismissed as a harmless joke by the party to which the offender belongs. The unwillingness to hold such leaders to equal account is a flaw in the American electorate.