CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

A Rejection Letter: Some Serious Problems with an Essay Submission from Thomas Jefferson

The following recent archival discovery may be of interest to CounterPunch readers one week after the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Dear Thomas Jefferson:

We hope that you and your slaves are enjoying your summer in Monticello. We certainly appreciate the hard work and elaborate word-crafting that has gone into your submission on national independence, but regret that we cannot publish it for the following reasons:

1. The fact that you and other signers of your declaration are slaveowners renders crassly hypocritical your eloquent statement that “All men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is richly ironic that you combine this statement with the complaint that the British king has “excited domestic insurrections amongst us,” which we take to mean that London has offered freedom to your slaves. Insofar as your complaint is true, we say three cheers for the British crown.

2. There is no evidence for the existence of a “Creator,” which we take to mean a God.

3. Human rights are fought for and won........

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