This opinion was originally written for another platform whose audience consists of only members of the University of Virginia community including alumni. Rather than adapting it here for a wider audience, I will instead leave it intact and add hyperlinks to additional context to fill in the gaps between the audiences’ perspectives.
The Ethos of Mr. Jefferson has been taking a beating as of late and in many ways, I feel, deservedly so. Even that preferred moniker, Mr. Jefferson, has not aged well, though I suspect its use on Grounds is less prevalent than I recall. Despite seeing merit in this beating, I do not feel that it should be beaten into oblivion.
Jefferson’s character is a complex one, and somehow after death, with time, this complexity has grown. Jefferson was a kind of addict, his vice, high society. Throughout his life, he would continue to sacrifice his soul for the pleasure of the day. This being a reason the fidelity of his actions so often paled in comparison to that of his words. And words clearly being his gift, allowing his flawed character and his purer soul to at times yield some of the purest eternal truths.
Jefferson tells us on his tombstone his three proudest achievements. It is no surprise that two of these are works of words and by most accounts, his purest and truest. The third is fathering the University of Virginia, our beloved Grounds. He had lived his mortal life littered with hypocrisies and personal failings, but perhaps his eternal choice, this three, is his true soul’s apology. His other achievements, some of which others may view of greater import, were corrupted not only in pursuit but in result. He held many a position of great power yet exercised little of this power in service of his truest words, ‘that all men are created equal’. His many notable achievements that history records were made possible in large part by the life long toil of the hundreds he enslaved. His intellectual freedom paid with their personal freedoms and this gross inequity amplified by his vanity and vice. But these purest three, these he can live with in death and whose glory he must share with those whose lives he stole. The obelisk should sit at the peak of his little mountain in the place of his stately home, where it could serve as the stone marking the shared achievement of all of these deserving souls.
Now I should clarify, that when I invoke purity here, it is in the fathering of the University, not in the institution herself. Of what I have read, the earliest years could be described as anything but pure. But with the seed of pure intent sown, she has set off on a long arch with a bending toward pure-truth that continues to this day and shall for evermore. And although this purity is ever out of reach, she has given birth to much more art than imitation, science than dogma, truth than fallacy, love than hate.
Jefferson’s words were not always pure or even noble or true. Some writings reveal opinions that although not uncommon for his day, do not prove wise through the crucible of time. He is also a father of our two-party partisan traditions along with the nasty rhetoric these traditions inspire. This achievement, decidedly, is not worthy of chisel to stone. And today, it is this boorish progeny that threatens yet another of his, our republic, our United States. Jefferson’s relationship with John Adams, another father of this nation and another of that two-headed partisan beast, can serve as a metaphor of the beast itself. What started as a friendship forged in rebellion devolved into intense acrimony at the birth of this beast. Later, after both men’s lust for power abated, their friendship returned and with it, and with the aid of both men’s ample abilities of reason, some common ground. This friendship would grow to the strongest of such, until the day of their near-simultaneous deaths. This, the fourth day of July, being exactly 50 years after the birth of their other more virtuous child. Now for this metaphor to hold, our current political beast with its power-lust must be slain by reason. This abundance of reason, by design of the republic, must come from us citizens.
Today’s rhetoric too often takes the form of wholly pathetic and reasonless pleas, designed to act like an opiate, numbing the mind and all senses while manipulating one targeted emotion. And the only point is to foster an addiction to the speaker, both the pusher and the drug. The keen skeptic among you might at this point cry, ‘Hypocrisy!’, having detected the many pathos-laden appeals on this page. To this I say, Pathos speaks truth whilst holding hands with honest Logos.
Even the ethos of the word rhetoric has been sullied by our contemporary coarse discourse with most finding the word to have a derogatory appeal. Though the educated in Jefferson’s day certainly had, few now appreciate the art and discipline of the ancient rhetoric. Today’s rhetoric too often takes the form of unsophisticated and shameless manipulations. And although this modern form seems basic, one must be equipped with a strong knowledge of the ancient art to safely consume and combat it.
My studies in Charlottesville focused nearly exclusively on the applied sciences and did not include instruction in this ancient artistry. In search of medicine, to help heal our ailing republic, I found inspiration to study ancient rhetoric quite recently. What I found was a mix of some familiar themes that I had intuited through parallels with that which I had studied, and other foreign themes that both intrigued and surprised me. One most surprising theme is the notion that fallacy in rhetoric can be acceptable from source with the onus on the audience to detect it lest be manipulated. I am afraid that many a rhetorician today is equipped with this sword, yet much of the audience does not possess the shield. And this imbalance ever more dangerous now with a shout’s echo reaching every corner of the world in an instant. I suspect many of you did gain these valuable tools of Aristotle and Cicero in your studies on Grounds, but perhaps some have let these lessons recede to the dusty stacks deep in your mind. If this describes you, please dust off these tomes and refresh and renew. If you are more like me please study anew.
Once properly armed, we are equipped to seek the common ground that Jefferson and Adams found in their wisest years. This common ground will not be found at the angry poles of today but in the reasonable middle of tomorrow. In drafting the birth certificate of our republic, Jefferson saw a potential for purity here as well. But nearing his twilight years, he penned this to a friend,
“this institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. for here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”
These words refer to his university but he could very well have been speaking of his republic too. Only we can make them true of both.
We come from old Virginia, where all are bright and gay,
let’s all raise quill and rhetoricate for dear old USA.
UVa Lingo Decoder
Mr. Jefferson: a historically preferred honorary applied to Thomas Jefferson at the University. It is related to another tradition of referring to all people as Mr./Mrs./Ms. instead of other honoraries like Dr. when possessing a non-medical Ph.D. degree.
Grounds: term used by students, professors, and alumni to refer to the physical University instead of as Campus as most other schools do.
The Obelisk: refers to the tombstone marking Thomas Jefferson’s grave because of its shape.
little mountain: Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, is Italian for ‘little mountain’. This home does in fact sit at the summit of 850 ft high peak in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna Gap.
Charlottesville: Charlottesville is the small city in central Virginia that is home to the University of Virginia
applied sciences: The engineering school at the University is called the School of Engineering and Applied Science(SEAS). This name is somewhat self redundant.
The Good Old Song: UVa’s alma mater. It is sung to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne.” The closing of this article is actually a paraphrasing of two middle bars of this song, “We come from Ol’ Virginia, where all is bright and gay, let’s all join hands and give a yell for dear ol’ UVA”
Additional customary UVa lingo can be found here and here