| The force of Win's remark, which was, indeed, somewhat jarringly inserted, was to undermine the invocation of Jefferson as an authority, by noting that he was not in tune with contemporary standards we think right, as well as those we may think wrong. Since it related to a conversation we had had a couple of days before, it had a somewhat different context than you may imagine. It is, actually, a pretty good point: after all, even theoretically, Jefferson was frequently wrong, as in his attachment to an agrarian republic. On the other hand, I understand that it seemed like an excessive attack to you, when we do, as a nation, have a lot to be grateful to Jefferson for, and that you would not have reacted so badly if there had been a more circumspect expression of the point. In this instance, I think it would be best to call it a draw and move on....... |
