Three times during my life, I have freely sworn a solemn oath in the presence of God to protect and defend the United States Constitution against enemies, foreign and domestic. Three times, I have reflected on what it means to embrace its political philosophy - to vocalize that pledge that governs not only how we live our lives but also how we live our lives shoulder to shoulder next to our fellow citizens on this journey that has rightly been called, “The American Experiment.”
Although my years of public service rested decades ago, my allegiance to that sacred document, forged by our forefathers under threat of life and livelihood, has not expired nor weakened with the passing days. It has not waned or wavered. It is not shaken nor forsaken. Instead, my allegiance is more vital than ever and burns more determinedly inside, especially after witnessing the four years of the Trump era.
Too many Americans have forgotten what the United States Constitution means with each new news story, it seems. Our political leaders have forsaken what this roadmap has represented for generations before us. Are we going to fail those greater generations now by ignoring our political legacy and American democracy?
Thomas is offered to you as a reminder, a refresher, on what it means to be American, what it means to cherish life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, what it means to be honorable, ethical, and an example for the rest of the world who yearns to share in our blessings or emulate its cause. What does each article mean, and why, and what do the Amendments also stand for?
Thomas is offered to you due to my awakening to the formally resting public service. A call to be better. It is a clarion call to do great public good, not because there is something in it for us but because it is the right thing to do for the America we all share. White and black, brown or other. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or any. Rich, poor, or navigating the great middle class. Straight or whatever. Democrat, Republican, or Independent. Female or male. It does not matter if we are all indeed Americans. Suppose we all have the same rights, respect, and expectation.
Our mediazine is not named for a perfect person. Mr. Jefferson never pretended to be. This we all know. Even his foundation honors his memory today by memorializing his struggles, rather than hiding them, with what history judges us by now approaching three centuries later. Mr. Jefferson fits squarely in the line of many other presidents of the United States who have had their weaknesses and strengths.
We have survived a Revolution, a Civil War, two World Wars, a Great Depression, an Industrial Age, a Cold War, potentially assured mass destruction, famine, pandemics, and many other bad things in our brief two-and-one-half centuries of earthly existence, including what now appears to have been a coup d’etat attempt by a sitting president of the United States with a physical attack by his supporters - encouraged by that occupant of the Oval Office - on the United States Capitol.
This Thomas mediazine is named for the embodiment of what that imperfect person and that imperfect political philosophy wanted to inspire us through his and its ultimate example and understanding of those dark and challenging times. “We hold these truths that all men” – and all women – “are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ….”
We cannot forget this simple American fact. We must fight for its rights. That is why we are bringing you Thomas today so that you will remember, fight for its meaning, celebrate its causes, and live life with liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Here’s to you! Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness together! We want democracy, American democracy, to survive.