"Monkish Ignorance and Superstition"

[Ichingcarpenter]

President Bush was at Monticello for a 4th of July celebration and he delivered an address. But it's quite telling that his speechwriters, in quoting Jefferson, cut out an anti-religious statement from a long and famous quote. Here's the way Bush put it:

"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, and to assume the blessings and security of self-government."

Now let's look at the full quote, including the part that was cut out. This is from a letter he wrote to Roger Weightman reflecting on the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (which, it turns out, was the day both he and John Adams died):

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.


You might not wonder why *the pResident left those words out.

[Trajan]

1. Good catch, Iching ...

Given the choice:

Jefferson - Keep

Bush - Toss

Jefferson was a man of reason ... Bush is a man that defies reason ...

It's too bad Bush is allowed to sully those hallowed grounds with his disgusting presence, let alone bumble his way through a bastardization of Jefferson's comments ...

[wurzel]

2. He got the quote from Fox News.

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. He didn't want to put in Jefferson's anti organized religious tone.

Its quite clear what Jefferson was saying but once again rather than
give the historical truth, they use omission to further their agenda.

[east texas lib]

4. Jefferson distrusted institutions that did not allow independent free thought and action...

And he was correct. Blind obedience to faith and the substitution of dogmatism for critical thinking
and judgment will lead your nation down the path to endless wars both external and internal.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. Reminds me of the gov't dinner a few years ago where...

... they had someone sing "Imagine" and they changed the "and no religion, too." line to something completely different.

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. Irrefutable proof that Bush hates Thomas Jefferson. nt

[ColbertWatcher]

7. Nice catch! n/t

[pansypoo53219]

8. well now.

i'll just have to post this on my blog. georgee, the ULTIMATE ignorant one.

[edhopper]

9. But,

the Bush Administration absolutely rejects the idea that the Rights in the Constitution (or the DOI for that matter) apply to anyone but U.S. citizens, and sometimes not even them.
Guantanamo anyone?

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. The point is he omitted the truth of Jefferson's statement at a Federal Ceremony

Where brave patriots protested this clown.

[ColbertWatcher]

11. He censored a quote by Jefferson...

...at Monticello on July 4th.

The only way it could have been worse is if he wiped his ass with the Constitution...oh, wait...

[Fumesucker]

12. Jeebus...

Your statement put it in perspective for me.. Thanks.

Dissed the writer of the DOI, at his home, on the anniversary of the DOI.

A more craven performance is hard to imagine.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. And you said more succinctly than I did! n/t