Virtue signaling is becoming a serious impediment to the progressive left.
Democrat hopeful Pete Buttigieg recently opined that references to Thomas Jefferson should be removed from the public square. Why? Buttigieg stated:
"Jefferson’s more problematic. You know, there’s a lot to, of course, admire in his thinking and his philosophy. Then again, as you plunge into his writings, especially the notes on the state of Virginia, you know that he knew that slavery was wrong.…"
Buttigieg's profound display of ignorance and disdain for our country's founding principles uniquely disqualify him as a serious contender for any public office.
It is precisely because of the forward thinking of our country's founders that slavery could be eradicated from America.
William Sullivan explains in the May 24, 2019 American Thinker article, Americans Are in Desperate Need of a Lesson on the History of Slavery. Excerpts follow:
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...But interestingly, Buttigieg has unknowingly pinpointed precisely why Thomas Jefferson should be eternally revered by our society, which believes that enslaving other human beings is wrong.
That is, that Jefferson knew that it was wrong at the time.
Thomas Sowell explains, brilliantly as ever:
"Of all the tragic facts about the history of slavery, the most astonishing to an American today is that, although slavery was a worldwide institution for thousands of years, nowhere in the world was slavery a controversial issue prior to the 18th century[.] ...
Everyone hated the idea of being a slave but few had any qualms about enslaving others. Slavery was just not an issue, not even among intellectuals, much less among political leaders, until the 18th century — and only then in Western civilization.
Among those who turned against slavery in the 18th century were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and other American leaders. You could research all of 18th century Africa or Asia or the Middle East without finding any comparable rejection of slavery there."
In other words, these prominent men having turned against an institution that had been normal throughout human history was an expression of a revolutionary idea. To imagine that the idea that slavery is morally wrong would be embraced by everyone overnight, in such a world, is nothing short of childish fantasy.
The Founders knew that such change would require not only time, but a practical argument against the institution as well....
The Founders rejected slavery as a moral evil, certainly. They also recognized its economical inefficiency, and perhaps most importantly, they scribed the precepts that would end it into our Constitution.
The Constitution etched in stone a prohibition on the importation of slaves from the year 1808 onward. Why would the Founders commit to such a strict prohibition if they intended for America to be a slaveholding nation in perpetuity? The document implements few absolute prohibitions on all the new States, so that answer is simple. They wouldn't....
Perhaps, rather than focusing on the fact that some Founders owned slaves, we would do better to remember their uniqueness in morally opposing slavery in their time and for having presented the economic formula through which it was expunged from American society forever.
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In today's political arena where American History is barely touched upon in our public schools, perhaps we shouldn't expect more from a small-town politician.
At least we can say he's consistent. Buttigieg recently proclaimed: America is not full - send more immigrants to South Bend.
This is sheer insanity. Democrat so-called "leaders" want to import a new underclass of immigrants who will ultimately vote for the Democrat party.
Yep. Small town small-minded virtue signaling. We should expect more of the same.
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