Xan at Corrente has given us a snippet of a letter from Thomas Jefferson to a friend commenting on the passing of the Alien and Sedition Act (the PATRIOT ACT of the day). It is so completely appropriate I couldn't resist reposting it here. As Xan says, maybe it will help us through the next 900 or so days.
A little patience, and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their spells dissolve, and the people, recovering their true sight, restore their government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are suffering deeply in spirit, and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public debt…. If the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at stake.
No offense to Wiccans meant. For those interested
here is a link to the complete letter written by Jefferson to John Taylor in June, 1798. It is interesting to read the postscript and very telling about the 4th estate of the time.
P. S. It is hardly necessary to caution you to let nothing of mine get before the public. A single sentence, got hold of by the Porcupines, will suffice to abuse & persecute me in their papers for months.
No comments:
Post a Comment