Republicans and the Hypocrisy of Small Government

Every political movement, big and small, has a core ideal that governments their policies and legislation.

If we are to believe the current Republican party, they are governed by the idea of small government. As per Thomas Jefferson, it is as follows:

[A] wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned.

On paper, it doesn’t sound hypocritical at all. It comes off as fairly reasonable. The powers that be should not be interfering in the day-to-day life of the average person on the street. But the reality is another story entirely.

• Roe v Wade was overturned a little more than a week ago. The repercussions are only beginning to be revealed.
• In Texas and Florida, the vitriol against the LGBTQ community has reached a new level.
• In the wake of Covid-19 and the destruction that the virus has unleashed, some GOP-led states (Texas and Florida, again. What else is new?) have made it illegal for businesses to enforce mask mandate policies.

When they are called out for their duplicity, they claim “free speech“. What about my right to free speech? Why is it they are allowed to speak their truths, but if I do it, I am labeled a radical lefty snowflake?

If they want to live in a right-wing, sexist, and racist Christian theocracy, that is their choice and their decision. As we say in Judaism “Zolst leben un zein gezunt!” (Yiddish for you should live and be well!). but do not impose your beliefs on me and expect me to quietly give in.

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America’s First Daughter Book Review

They say that history is written by the victors. They may also say that history is written by those who have access to the pen. For thousands of years, men have told their stories. It is only recently that women have been given the pen and the spotlight.

America’s First Daughter was published in 2016. In the book, Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the story of Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph, the eldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson. The book starts when Martha, known to her family as Patsy, is a young girl. After her mother’s death, Patsy becomes her father’s companion and confidant.

When her father named as the American minister to France, Patsy travels with her father. Compared to her Virginia home, Paris is another world entirely. Growing up within the world the of pre-revolution French aristocracy, Patsy becomes suspicious of Thomas’s relationship with Sally Hemmings. She also falls in love, but this love will not turn into marriage.

After Patsy returns home, she follows the prescribed path of marriage and motherhood. But her life will not be that of the average American woman of her day. It will not only shape the lives of her family, it will shape the lives of millions of Americans.

Based in on real life letters, this book tells the story of the early days of America from the female perspective. It is a perspective that in either fiction or non fiction, is not given the attention that it should receive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is well written, well researched and worth the time it takes to read.

I recommend it.

Musings On The 4th of July

Today is the celebration of America’s Independence Day. Today we go to the beach, we barbecue and watch as the fireworks explode across the night sky.

But 4th of July is more than just another day off. It is a reminder of the struggle of generations of Americans who have fought and died for the freedoms we hold dear.

This country opened it’s arms to my immigrant great-grandparents more than a century ago. Escaping poverty and persecution, they came to America looking for freedom, security and opportunity. Their struggle, like millions of immigrants then and now was far from easy. But with hard work comes success and that success has made the United States the country that it is today.

While we as a nation are far from perfect, we still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women) are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

G-d Bless the USA and Happy 4th of July.

Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family Book Review

Family is complicated. The bonds of blood and DNA sometimes entangle us more than we would like them to. Add in race and an American myth and you have Jefferson’s Children: The Story of One American Family.

Written by Shannon Lanier, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson, the book explores the often complicated and difficult relationship between the many descendants of our 3rd President. For the last two centuries, a story has been circulating throughout America. After the death of Jefferson’s wife, he began a decades long affair with Sally Hemings, one of his slaves who was not only decades younger than he, but also his late wife’s half-sister.

Centuries later, the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and the children he sired by both his wife and his slave are numerous. But with the passage of time and the sometimes shaky relations between the races in this country, several of Jefferson’s white descendants (or those who families have passed for white for generations) question not only the validity of the myth, but also that they have cousins who are African-American.

I found this book to be fascinating. It’s fascinating because it attests to the fact that America is a complicated country and her people are equally as complicated.

I recommend it.

Flashback Friday-Jefferson In Paris (1995)

History is full of myths and half-truths that may or may not be completely accurate.

One of the myths of American history is the relationship between founding father/3rd President Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings. The 1995 film, Jefferson in Paris, recounts the years before Thomas Jefferson (Nick Nolte) became President.

Presently, Jefferson is the ambassador to the French court. Joining him is his daughter, Patsy (Gwyneth Paltrow) and his slave, Sally (Thandie Newton). Jefferson is having an affair with his much younger slave, who according to history, will bear him six children. While his personal life is a bit messy, his position as ambassador could change with the impending French Revolution.

This movie is very interesting. Blending fact with fiction that may or may not be true, the movie humanizes Thomas Jefferson and allows the audience to see the man behind the myth and the 18th century oil painting.

I recommend it.