Well, summer semester is underway, which means that I'm no longer allowed to have much of a life. It's a good thing that the Democratic nomination is wrapped up, NHL Stanley Cup ended this evening, and all of my favorite shows' season finales have aired and won't be back on until the fall (with the exception of the summer show 'My Boys' on TBS). It means that what little time I had off in May and enjoyed NOT reading, I'm having to quickly readapt to life back in the fastlane of graduate school.

Anyway, my class this semester is on Thomas Jefferson and the American Enlightenment. We're reading many of his documents and letters… his letters of the republic. I previously thought Jefferson to be a bit of a crazy loon, but now that I'm reading a bit into his work, I've really enjoyed the passion he puts into his writing… even if it's about one of my lesser favorite states. The debate tonight focused on how Jefferson's ideals would transpire today, and whether he has a positive reputation among modern scholars. The class has just started, and we're still in session… so it has yet to be determined.

However, Thomas Jefferson wrote in his letter to John Norvell in June 1807: "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is." In truth, Jefferson completely uncovers the basis of textbook history. Political and policy history essentially describes what has worked and what has not. In the light of Jefferson's theory of what history is, I can only imagine what will be written about the Bush administration's policy… 

In all truth, considering the path that this country has taken in the past 30 years, and the fight that Jefferson took on for liberty and virtues of the republic, Jefferson is rolling over in his grave.