Thomas Jefferson Quote 

"A morsel of genuine history
is a thing so rare as to be always valuable."

by:
Thomas Jefferson
(1743-1826), US Founding Father, drafted the Declaration of Independence, 3rd US President
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Reader comments about this quote:
ABSOLUTELY!! As I've studied history I've concluded that it was perhaps our founding fathers who were the last really great men who saw history for what it was (and not what they pushed and wanted it to be). Some people on this blog have made it a point to establish themselves as persons who don't have to rely on the "authority" of the ancients, because they perceive themselves as having the same educational ability of mastering the deduction of history without knowledge or trust of what the "authorities" actually said; however, such stupidity aside, and to repeat, our founders -- the greatest of men -- who took that long look through history to see mankind in their, ideas, civilizations, societies, applications of ideas, religions, and philosophies, etc. to piece together such a masterpiece as is our Constitution; to find something that would work! A perfect balance, within a Republican government, to rule according the majority, while protecting the expression of the inalienable rights of the individual. Brilliant!
 -- Logan, Memphis, TN		 
In 1947 the Supreme Court extracted a mere eight words from a Jefferson letter ("... a wall of separation between church and state..." - Everson v. Board of Education) legislating an entirely new non-historical, unlawful, and unconstitutional body of rules. The bizarre Court's non-foundational non-historical new fraudulent definition was out of context, was diametrically opposed to, and was in absolute contrast with the letter's entire focus, meaning and the country's history - complete with lawful foundations. In Engel v. Vitale, the US Supreme Court legislated prayer out of school. It was the first case in US history that was given without ANY precedence or other historical consideration - there was none. A morsel of genuine history IS a thing so rare as to be always valuable.
 -- Mike, Norwalk		 
I enjoy learning these genuine morsels especially of the relation not only of ideas but of the players on the human stage and even of the history of my own relatives. It was interesting to read in Benj Franklins autobiography of his London dinner party with the famous theatrical Booth family, the ancestors of the infamous John Wilkes of the same clan. History is great and important but just like Orwells 1984 (where folks were forced to worship slogans on placards, the placard of the day, the big lie) we must be careful that we do not esteem others greater than ourselves or those around us just because they wrote a book. Emerson warned us of this when he said "these guys are great men only because they wrote their thoughts down". If we made a beautifully bound hard copy book of all our posts here some would probably consider some of us great men. I can at least see Logan, Archer and Mike in that league, great men all! And Waffler would be there as the author of levity, just like the refreshing old Ben Franklin himself.
 -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas		 
It seems that we never learn from history, and thus we repeat it. In 1920 , the Anti- Saloon League and some other crazies got the 18th ammendent passed and the wonderful world of prohibition was upon us. It was supposed to bring Nervana and no longer could folks legally drink their favorite adult beverages and the country would be well nigh perfect. No more booze, heaven on earth. It was a godsend to people like Al Capone and since folk could not drink legally, they drank illegally. Prohibition corrupted police departments , judges were bought off, people were murdered in the streets, and the country spent millions trying to enforce it. In 1933 the idiocy of prohibition was finally terminated. Did we learn from the this boondoggle, we did not. Nowadays it's called The War On Drugs with the same horrors of 1920-1933 happening all over again. Read " Drug Crazy, How We got Into this Mess And How We Can get out of it". It gives the history of this "War" and is available on Amazon for about 12 bucks. Our country is very close to becoming a police state, if not already, and all because of the War on Drugs. It's ruining this country at a cost of 69 billion per year..It started about 1915, then Nixon really cranked it up in 1970, 38 years ago. It must be stopped. See what former cops and judges think about it at LEAP.CC on the web.
 -- jim k, austin		 
I was brought up in old Georgetown, Washington, D.C. where everywhere you turned was an historic landmark of some sort from the early colonial days. Living in a city of monuments and a never-ending reminder of our Founders, DC is like the Rome of America. Our schools instilled within us all the classic stories of the struggles of Liberty. Later living in old Charleston, S.C., I learned another side of history, just as time-honored. Even later as I returned to NYC and later to Boston, all around are landmarks of our history. And yet, I continue to be surprised upon discovering 'little morsels' that seem to fly in the face of what I was taught. I have come to see America from many sides and points of view. Studying history is not just for the young -- they are not ready to grasp it -- it is ongoing. While we were taught to revere Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Frankiln, Madison, and others, I have come to realize how truly brilliant they really were, not just because they are heroes, but because of their deep understanding of history. If we but spent some time following their trail, we would come to the same understanding. Ah, such morsels are sweet.
 -- E Archer, NYC		 
For some more background you don't get in schools...read, John V Denton's "A Century of War" It gets into a lot of events not commonly known behind the the Civil, First and Second Wars. It will most certainly give you pause for thought when you view the activities of today's government. Its verifiable "History"
 -- J Carlton, Calgary		 
Those genuine historical morsels are so rare because those who control the story morph and twist history to their own liking. Even an eye witness to an historical event, with enough work, can be made to believe he really didn't see what he saw with his own eyes. "HISTORY, n. An account mostly false, of events mostly unimportant, which are brought about by rulers mostly knaves, and soldiers mostly fools."---Ambrose Bierce.
 -- Ken, Allyn, WA		 
Who was it who said that history is lies agreed upon. It may have been Napoleon.
 -- jim k, austin		 
 -- warren, olathe 
So true! History always favors the winner!
 -- Anonymous		 
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