The Redacting Of Thomas Jefferson

THE REDACTING OF THOMAS JEFFERSON

It looks like The Bush Team (with a little help from the Neocon speech writers) are Cherry Picking again.

(Cherry picking is the act of pointing at individual data that seem to confirm a
particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related data that
may contradict that position.)

This time it's Thomas Jefferson's words that are on the chopping block... Bush sputtered, on the 4th of July, one of Jefferson's last quotes, to the few who still think 'HE'S DOING A GOOD JOB'. But he left out the following passage: "under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves"...

Interesting, that he chose to leave out such words. I wonder if he thinks, that's a bit too close for comfort, of what he thinks of his unquestioning followers. We must redact the quote, don't want to hurt our standings with the base... No big deal, after all that's what we do best... Redact, remake, alter, amend, change, modify, overhaul, redo and revise, "THE TRUTH", so it will fit nicely into our Neocon secret and devious plans. thinkingblue.blogspot

More Here or below

Bush ‘fixes’ Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts on the 4th of July

By: Steve Benen on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 11:00 AM -

On Friday, to help honor Independence Day, the president appeared in Charlottesville, Virginia, and hosted a aturalization ceremony at Monticello. Bush had quite a bit to say about the president who called Monticello home.

"The principles that Thomas Jefferson enshrined in the declaration became the guiding principles of the new nation. And at every generation, Americans have rededicated themselves to the belief that all men are created equal, with the God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Thomas Jefferson understood that these rights do not belong to Americans alone. They belong to all mankind. And he looked to the day when all people could secure them. On the 50th anniversary of America’s independence, Thomas Jefferson passed away. But before leaving this world, he explained that the principles of the Declaration of Independence were universal. In one of the final letters of his life, he wrote, ‘May it be to the world, what I believe it will be — to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all — the Signal of arousing men to burst the chains, (deleted) and to assume the blessings and-security of self-government.'"

That’s very nice, but as Ed Brayton noted, it’s not quite what Jefferson said. Here’s the actual portion from the letter Bush referenced (thanks to R.M. for the heads-up):

“May it be to the world, what I believe it will be, (to some parts sooner, to others later, but finally to all,) the signal of arousing men to burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and superstition had persuaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government.” [emphasis added]

Hmm. Jefferson’s actual sentiments weren’t quite what Bush wanted to say, so it looks like Bush’s speechwriters gave Jefferson a little touch-up.

The Redacting Of Thomas Jefferson