Philosophies of Thomas Jefferson relevant in modern world

By Jon Stonehouse
Western Herald

The philosophy of Thomas Jefferson provides a solid bridge of understanding for those navigating through and the current political climate.

“Thomas Jefferson’s vision is at the heart of what we American’s truly love about our country,” Eric S. Peterson said.

Peterson, editor of the book “Life and Liberty: Reflections on the Pursuit of Happiness,” spoke at the Kalamazoo Public Library Saturday on Jeffersonian philosophy and how it correlated with present times.

Though Thomas Jefferson only wrote one full book in his entire life, most of his writings consisted of letters that he wrote for hours a day. Peterson said that “Light and Liberty” is not a biography but instead described as “the book that Thomas Jefferson never wrote, yet every word is his.”

Jefferson was very studious, sometimes reading for 12 hours a day. Additionally, Peterson gave insightful tips for the present day pursuit of happiness in daily routine life, according to Jeffersonian philosophy, that fit very well with academic life of students today.

In his letters, Jefferson recommended that going to bed and rising at a fixed hour was best and staying up late was injurious to health. This is quite the opposite of student life today, yet it is fitting advice before finals week.

“Thomas Jefferson was the happiest of men,” Peterson said.

Jefferson was so eager to start every day he said the sun never caught him in bed for more than 50 years. The pursuit of happiness was a constant theme throughout his life and is forever ingrained in American values.
Jefferson said, “Happiness is the game of life; virtue is the foundation of happiness.”

He believed that without health, there is no happiness. As a vegetarian, Jefferson was lean and fit claiming to use meat mainly as a condiment.

“Of all exercises, walking is best,” Jefferson said.

Western Michigan University President John Dunn would agree as he has said he favors walking previously in defense against complaints about current parking conditions on campus.

The issue of slavery was brought up in a question and answer session by one audience member, which historically has threatened the legitimacy of Jefferson as an American hero. It is a known fact that Jefferson kept slaves. Peterson not only defended the third President through his abolitionist voting record in the Virginia Legislature, but also what he did personally as a slave master.

“Thomas Jefferson, in my opinion, did more, said more, to advance the cause of freedom for enslaved African Americans than any other founding father,” Peterson said. “You could even call him America’s first abolitionist.”

Peterson said that even Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr. all drew from Jefferson’s ideals stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal.

Again another audience member challenged that if Jefferson was such an opponent of slavery, why did he not free his own slaves?

Peterson attributed Jefferson’s actions based on conditions set in those times in which he lived. While almost all of his abolitionist proposals were struck down, as a slave master Jefferson was known to have treated slaves well and trained them in a particular skill in preparation of their eventual freedom.

“Let’s look at the reality of the times and say, maybe he didn’t free the slaves because he cared for their fate,” Peterson said. “Life was absolutely miserable for freed African Americans. They didn’t have property, they huddled in ghettos, and were looked down upon by their fellow man.”

While Jefferson wanted society to have a program for training racist minds of white men to be more tolerant, Peterson said it is not fair to look it with today’s standards.

“I think if he were alive today, he would have been ecstatic as to what happened in the election this November,” Peterson said.

Peterson addressed the question of who was the best President of the United States and said it was not a fair question. Among typical answers he listed, Lincoln, FDR and Washington.

“What do they have in common? They were war presidents,” he said.

Jefferson was a life-long speaker on the proper use of national power. As a pacifist he believed “the less we use our power, the greater it shall be.”

“I don’t think you can compare war presidents with peace presidents. If you look at the peace presidents, in my view I would have to say Thomas Jefferson.”

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Dec 7 2008. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
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