April 3, 2008
Revisiting the Jefferson Memorial
If you’ve been down to the Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms, then you’ve probably already revisited the Jefferson Memorial.
When we went down there the other day, we found the Memorial abuzz with a mix of tourists, regular locals, and locals who were hosting tourists. The weather was wet and gray, and the kids in a school group were shifting around to relieve their sore feet. Parents were flush, grandparents rested on the benches, if they could find a spot.
But even with the mass of restless flesh packed within the Memorial’s dome, most of the visitors’ were pleased and impressed.
Considering the atmosphere in which the Memorial was dedicated, we thought this was a fitting milieu. Finished in 1943, so in the middle of WWII that a plaster replacement of Rudolph Evan’s bronze Jefferson statue was installed to honor the war-time restriction on metals, the $3 million Memorial did not get a huge party for a dedication.
Photo by Cowtools.
The ceremony lasted just fifteen minutes and was attended by a mere 5,000 people (nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands at the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain). FDR, who laid the Memorial's cornerstone and was instrumental in its construction, spoke of Jefferson’s hatred of tyranny in relation to the WWII battle of democracy against fascism and dictatorship. “No king, no tyrant, no dictator can govern for them as wisely as they can govern for themselves,” he said.
Back to the present. We spoke to a security guard at the Memorial about the inundation of visitors. Do they ever annoy him?
“No!” he said, smiling. “They come from all over the world—they want to know about America, it’s a good thing.”
Then he pointed up at the quote from the Declaration of Independence that begins with “all men are created equal.”
“We are all really the same,” he said. “It’s like Jefferson said.”
And when we spoke to visitors there, they too spoke with reverence for Jefferson’s words. Standing on the cusp of the Memorial, where FDR had asked for a clear sight line to the White House, a student from George Mason said, “I just wish the Presidents these days would come and read this.”
Surrounded by hundreds of diverse people from all over the world, looking out at what a beautiful piece of landscaping the Tidal Basin could be, we felt momentarily protected by the man who swore “upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man,” and it was easy to forget about the drizzle.
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What a cheesy write up.
My issue with the Jefferson is that there are no bathrooms; or if there are, they are poorly indicated. So please, correct me if I'm wrong!
I know I sound like a broken record here, but it's a damn shame that beautiful memorial is surrounded by jersey barriers. The first thing all those foreign tourists see is an ugly circle of concrete, a symbol of fear and circling-the-wagons mentality.
The bathrooms are below the memorial, in the visitors center where there are also shops.
There's a information desk up top, off to one side, where the park rangers provide that and other info -- and across from them, through an opposite doorway, is an elevator down below (but there's also a ground level side entrance).
"we felt momentarily protected by the man who swore “upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man,”"
This from a man who owned slaves...
i read that TJ quote at the end and thought it said "upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tranny over the mind of man."
i think it makes more sense that way.
One thing that struck me about Jefferson when I recently visited Monticello was that I always knew he was a slaveowner, which conflicted with his rhetoric, but what I didn't realize was that he was, like, the biggest slaveowner in Virginia. This isn't just Laurie-David-flying-on-private-jets hypocritical, this is like Laurie-David-riding-on-a-private-jet-towed-by-100-Hummers-with-the-A/C-on hypocritical.
What disservice to reduce Jefferson to "a man who owned slaves." The complexity of his struggle with slavery has been well documented. How easy to look back with a disparaging eye. Exactly which social injustices do you fight, Baron, that through your actions completely and thoroughly place you outside of modern norms?
ohhhh snap!
Actually, the full quote is:
"The returning good sense of our country threatens abortion to their hopes, & they [the clergy] believe that any portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in opposition to their schemes. And they believe rightly; for I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this is all they have to fear from me: & enough too in their opinion, & this is the cause of their printing lying pamphlets against me. . ."
He was talking about the tyrrany of religious beliefs.
Fun! I love judging people from hundreds of years ago based on contemporary standards of civility! You know, the bushmen of the Kalahari and the builders of Zimbabwe were complete savages because they lacked cellphones and indoor plumbing!
And plenty of freed slaves in the south owned their own slaves. Read that on the back of a place mat at Cracker Barrel.
As others have said, it's impossible to judge Jefferson based on the standards of our day. What I've always liked about him is that he was the best and worst of man...someone with these lofty, stone-carved ideals who condemned the slave trade in his first draft of the Declaration but who lived the life of a plantation- and slave-owner.
Here's what I really wish our heads of state would come read:
"I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times."
the strict constructionalist crowd needs to remember that Jefferson basically said that having an inflexible body of law is like forcing an adult to wear the clothes he wore as a child. both must adapt to the times or they become useless or worse.
mr. t: thanks again for expressing exactly what i would have said, if i would have been hanging around today reading dcist, instead of being on a plane to GREEN BAY WISCONSIN (hey guys, want me to bring back some cheese curds?)
the jersey barriers, the fact that the damn memorial is SINKING INTO THE TIDAL BASIN. i know people like to rant and rave about the fiscal responsibilities of our governement, but christ on a bike, can we please appropriate the funding yesterday to take care of this memorial and the grounds around it.
this was such a sappy write-up. i'd have ranted for four paragraphs about the absolute disgrace the whole thing is. makes us look like the third-rate kleptocracy that i just know this country can be with a little hard work...
So is the problem that the memorial is sinking or that the tidal basin is rising? And don't try to confuse me with your scientific doubletalk about the "theories" of global warming and gravity.
Whenever I drive into town, that whole stretch of waterfront under the 14th Street Bridge and going to Hains Point has crumbled a little more, and the water is splashing over the sidewalk.
Yes, Jefferson owned slaves, Yes he was a hypocrite to do so. But while that may lessen the man in our eyes it should never diminish the power and truth of his words.
He is the father of modern democracy while he was unable as man to let go of the chains by which he enslaved others, his words inspired later generations later to rise up and free themselves from oppression.
We shouldn't deminish Jefferson's contributions to modern democracy.
We also shouldn't forget that lofty idealists like Washington and Jefferson owned human beings, like most wealthy landowners of their day, and this was the mark of Cain that even a Civil War didn't erase. It took another hundred years before relics of that era (Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, segregation) began to wither. And even though racial restrictive covenants are supposed to be illegal, property owners still manage to skirt fair housing and anti-discrimination laws.
So that memorial by the Tidal Basin should remind us of what Jefferson helped create, as well as how much more work we have to do to ensure that everyone can walk into a lousy restaurant like Denny's and get equally crappy service, regardless of the amount of melanin in their skin.
Vote Quimby.
Vote Quimby.
Classic.
We shouldn't deminish Jefferson's contributions to modern democracy.
Not at all, but rather than looking at slavery, Jim Crow, and other forms of discrimination as something that happened in spite of Jeffersonian ideals; I submit that these things are part and parcel of our government and economy, built into their very structure. This isn't to say that things haven't changed and won't continue to trend towards a more egalitarian society, but part of Jefferson's legacy is discrimination.
Two issues with the Jefferson Memorial:
1. The ugliness of the security barriers and the general upkeep around there.
2. The fact that it's slowly sinking into the Tidal Basin/Potomac.
Main issue with Jefferson:
He was a douche. First, there's the whole dichotomy of him being all for freedom and liberty, but he was also a major slaveholder. Second, his notions of the farmer-philosopher were based on his own personal fancies, not on any practical or realistic notions. Third, he was a total knife-me-in-the-back douche to the original Gee Dubs while Washington was president. Fourth, he was even more of a douche while serving as Adams' VP. Fifth, his notions of limited government were tossed out the window when he agreed (and rightly so) to the Louisiana Purchase. Sixth, his total support for the French Revolution - including its kinda, sorta uglier sides like the mass head chopping via guillotines - showed the childlike romantic utopian he was in some of his political and governance ideas.
Cut the man some slack. Poor slob had jungle fever something bad. Don't that count for something? He wanted 'em real thick and juicy, so find that juicy double, Tommy J's in trouble, beggin' for a piece of that bubble.
"Not at all, but rather than looking at slavery, Jim Crow, and other forms of discrimination as something that happened in spite of Jeffersonian ideals; I submit that these things are part and parcel of our government and economy, built into their very structure."
Let's not forget that being gay was a capital offense in every single new American state after the Revolutionary War. Eventually most took the 'enlightened' view that you should actually kill homosexuals, you should just imprison them and otherwise treat them like crap.
Rat, it wasn't just your peeps that got shit on by the great new American government. Lots of people did. Anybody here recall how we treated Indians? Or the Chinese? Or women?
And it was an equal opportunity shitting. No group was immune from either being the shitter or the shittee. For instance, many blacks in America supported shitting on gays, just like many gays have supported shitting on blacks.
When it comes right down to it, none of us has an unblemished record, when it comes to what our peeps did in the past.
But that's just it. It's in the past. We grow, we mature, and hopefully we stop treating people like crap.
It's times like this where you gotta feel for the Black Log Cabin Republican southpaws. They have a hard enough time getting laughed at on the dance floor, let alone learning how to use a stickshift.