Paint-Matching with Tom and Ben

Painting and touching up in the dining room after new carpet is a challenge.  Getting the paint to match, new to old, isn't easy, but Lowe's makes it better with their computer-matching system.  So, it works.

Remember the story of the "old days"?  The old painter and his young assistant were painting a dining room.  The lady brought in the paint swatch:  "This isn't quite a match, is it?"  The old painter said:  "Don't you worry about that; give me an hour and it will match perfectly."  And he took the swatch.  The young (and very green) assistant asked, "How you gonna do that?"  Taking the swatch in one hand, and a brush in the other, the old painter painted the swatch with the paint he was using.  "See?  Perfect!"

Now, what does this have to do with Tom and Ben?  Sometimes people re-write history to match up with their preferences today.  Some folks "paint the swatch", and want Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin to look and sound like 19th century evangelicals.  Which works unless you look closely.

Jefferson and Franklin were 18th century Deists by belief, Church of England by legal requirement, and their brilliant gifts have been absolutely essential to this nation.  If you read their works, they just are who they are.  Google Franklin's "In Praise of Older Women";  get a copy of Jefferson's edited New Testament (which leaves out things miraculous because Jefferson didn't believe in them), easily available from Amazon.  They just are who they are.  Profoundly important to all of us, and somehow not to be "re-written" into something they never were.

So, why bring this up?  Well, if you persuade someone to believe something, based on a false argument, you can win the battle and lose the war.  As soon as they discover the real history of the thing, the whole case is lost, usually permanently.  And when you lose the debate on American heritage, that's a big loss.

Re-writing history is a bad business.  Re-painting the swatch is bad business for a painter.

A CEO of a major corporation met a junior executive in the hallway;  the younger carrying a roll of toilet paper.  "What's that for?"
"Oh, just taking it home for an extra."
"Steal it?"  
"Well, yes, sorry to say, I did."
"You're fired!"
"For stealing a roll of toilet paper??????"
"If you'll steal toilet paper, you'll steal anything!"

The things you believe in deserve the best presentation and representation you can give them!  Our American treasures (specifically Jefferson and Franklin, flaws and all) should be honored, not re-written to suit someone's favorite philosophy of the moment.  They deserve better than that!

Why not take NOW as a good time to get re-acquainted with both of them.  Their works are in libraries everywhere, almost free on Kindle, and in every college bookstore.  Whatever your philosophy of government, these two craftsmen of liberty deserve a good read.

Enjoy