Source: Law & Liberty
by John C Pinheiro
“It is hard to think of a less conservative approach to cultural continuity and civilizational inheritance than Thomas Jefferson’s claim: ‘The earth belongs always to the living generation. … Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force and not of right.’ Such claims are characteristic of Jefferson; a cursory reading of his correspondence indicates that he found little value in the past. But Jefferson was shaped by the Western intellectual and religious heritage more than even he cared to admit, and it is wrong to understand him primarily as a radical. We see this heritage at play in Jefferson’s efforts to understand the reality of the United States as a compact of independent states.” (10/29/24)