"Egoism, in a broader sense, has been... presented as the source of moral action. It has been said that we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bind up the wounds of the man beaten by thieves, pour oil and wine into them, set him on our own beast and bring him to the inn, because we receive ourselves pleasure from these acts... These good acts give us pleasure, but how happens it that they give us pleasure? Because nature hath implanted in our breasts a love of others, a sense of duty to them, a moral instinct, in short, which prompts us irresistibly to feel and to succor their distresses... The Creator would indeed have been a bungling artist had he intended man for a social animal without planting in him social dispositions. It is true they are not planted in every man, because there is no rule without exceptions; but it is false reasoning which converts exceptions into the general rule." --Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Law, 1814. ME 14:141
doing a lil Jefferson reading on this eve of the 4th of July (and anniversary of his death) and came across this one. I thought an average liberal might appreciate it, as well.
did ya know the Declaration was writ on hemp paper? I just learnt that tonight. and that Washington grew hemp. and clothes were spun out of it back in the day. life is grand. and bring back hemp... if it was good enough for the founders, why not us?
do ya reckon they were smoking a pipeful while they met in dark bars planning and penning? |
