Parallel lines Meet Eventually. I do Hope So!

Labels can be confusing especially labels over time.

I’m a history nut. I can’t get enough of it and especially, I cannot get enough of the early history of this Republic.

There have been classic battles of ideals and intellects and wills for thousands of years. Some like Socrates versus the city of Athens, some like Caesar versus Pompey, some like Paul versus the Jews, some like ………..

But you get the picture and I’m sure you can come up with your own list. Now some of your list and mine got resolved peacefully and some were resolved by force of arms and some never got resolved at all.

One of the latter is most interesting to me namely that of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams was the second President of these United States and Jefferson was his Vice-President. Adams was a Federalist and Jefferson was a Republican. Adams, for most of his life, fought to empower the central government, first in Philadelphia and later in what became Washington DC. At one point, he even contemplated the establishment of a new monarchy. This latter point is key and we’ll come back to it. Promise!

Jefferson, on the other hand, was a gentleman farmer from Virginia. He owned slaves; one, Sally Hemmings bore him at least one child. And, years before the battles over slavery were fought vocally, ideologically and eventually militarily he wrestled with the concept. How else can you reconcile his influence expressed in the ideals of the Constitution with the pragmatism of his earthly existence?

It is impossible to ignore the parallels of those times with those of today.

Already, some delusional Congressman is seeking to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution. His message seems to be, “All hail King Obama, the anointed one, scoop up the banks, and the insurance companies and any other business you deem worthy. Dictate to car companies, fire executives; ignore the tax cheats in your cabinet, and on and on. He is a Federalist in the extreme.

He seeks to make the States irrelevant. He is an Adams without a care for the Constitution that thousands of men and women died for.

We may have to do it again. We, the People for there is no Thomas Jefferson now as far as I can see. That’s why these Tea Parties came to be and if that’s what it takes ……

Parallel lines meet at infinity I was taught. Perhaps opposing political ideologies meet at eternity. Adams and Jefferson got an even start because they both died on the same day, July 4th 1826.

I’d like to think they’re both still arguing about it. Perhaps they’re betting who will win.

I hope it’s us!!