Thomas Jefferson: Another Beautiful D.C. Memorial

Thomas Jefferson's memorial in Washington D.C. is a celebration not just of one man, nor just of his own words, but of the high ideals and reflective nature of our country's founders as a whole.

It was the Age of Enlightenment.  Jefferson's pose for the interior statue is one of a man pondering the human experience of his day as well as his hopes for the future.  Along with the other forefathers, Thomas Jefferson sought an end to human injustice at least at the hand of its government.  They wanted to build a union in which the pursuit of happiness was not only allowed but encouraged within the framework of a thoughtful government.

Our country still had many troubling days ahead in which the fight for human justice may have seemed forgotten.  But Jefferson himself was prepared for these new ages of enlightenment and changes that might then need to occur.  "But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind," he stated.  His writings prepared for days like the ones in which we finally divorced ourselves from human slavery and eventually grew still further in our embracing of civil rights.  "Institutions," he said, "must advance also to keep pace with the times."

The Jefferson Memorial was designed to inspire and allow similar reflection in its visitors.  Through educational tours to this memorial, students will be encouraged to study Jefferson's words and further understand the principles and ideals on which our country was founded.  Hopefully they will be moved by the intense thought behind our government and its constitution.  Perhaps they will see things in it and in its founders they have never seen before.

(Photo by Seansie on Flickr)