thomas jefferson on enlightened conflict

I didn’t know Tom personally or I would have talked to him when I thought of starting this whole random concept called Enlightened Conflict. Ok. I am not that old. I guess I should have been smart enough to look back at some of our country’s forefathers for additional inspiration. Maybe seek some wisdom or more thoughtful logic on how to better explain it.

seek_truthSo. Thomas Jefferson would never be considered a pacifist. And today, well, I am not sure what he would be (Democrat or Republican). A wildly liberal Republican? (I believe they called them Whigs in the good ole days).  He was a firm believer that the only time true progress was made was when two things happened:

–          People rose up to stand up for what they believed in (I believe he was the forefather driving the Right to Bear arms right so we always had the opportunity to do just that – rise up – should the government ever lose sight of its role)

–          Freedom of thought, religion, speech, whatever. He believed a less ignorant population was more likely to be a successful republic.

With that. Two quotes from Tom to support this whole Enlightened Conflict thing I keep talking about:

“Enlighten the people, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”

Thomas Jefferson in a letter

“We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead.”

Thomas Jefferson in a letter

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Written by Bruce