In which I take a break from "mommy-blogging"...

I'm tired of complaining about the in-laws or Zeke being sick or the vog that is giving me a blinding headache.

So today I'm going to talk about Thomas Jefferson.

Students at the University of Virginia are indoctrinated in the cult of Thomas Jefferson. He is revered, rightly, as the founder of a great institution of learning, the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Virginia statute on religious freedom, etc. People refer to him as "Mr. Jefferson," as if he just stepped out and went down to the Corner for a box of snuff.

I've always admired him for his "Renaissance man" tendencies -- he was a scholar, an inventor, a patriot, a scientist, an architect, and someone who devoted himself to promoting republican (small "r") ideals.

But I just finished a book about John Adams that taught me some disturbing things about Jefferson. That he actively schemed against Adams while serving as his vice president. That he was a big fat liar when it came to politics, saying one thing to one person and then saying the exact opposite to another, all while professing innocence and disinterest in any political schemes. That he wrote about the evils of slavery yet hypocritically refused to free his hundreds of slaves because they kept him in the lifestyle to which he was accustomed and which he refused to relinquish (he was a dandy and a spendthrift) even though he was in serious debt.

I'm not sure why this upsets me so much. I guess I'm so conditioned to revere Jefferson that it's coming as a great shock to my system that in spite of his unquestionable accomplishments and contributions to our country, in his personal life he was a bit of an asshole. I feel ridiculous saying this, given that the guy has been dead for almost 300 years, but I'm really disappointed in him.