Ranting

THOMAS JEFFERSON made it quite clear that he neither embraced nor respected organized religion, Christianity in particular, to which he referred as "our modern superstition". Later excoriated by politically correct revisionist historians for his many manifestations of hypocrisy, he attended church regularly, presumably to keep up appearances. He cared what people thought. His "Jefferson Bible", is available in any good university library. Dreamy Tom, the first occupant of the White House, sat in his office with a pair of scissors, and divided the scripture into two parts: the credible, and the nonsensical. The latter pile of paper was far higher. When asked his purpose, he replied that "I am extracting diamonds from a dung heap". The book of Revelation he called "the rantings of a lunatic". Note that in the Declaration of Independence he refers to God as a subset of nature, like a true deist. Jefferson's ascent to the presidency was in itself somewhat of a "coup", he having bribed a newspaper man to slander his opponent, John Adams. The notion of a presidential coup, coupled with ranting, seems oddly familiar. Our modern versions both derive from the same source; the current president of the United States. Trump got elected fully aware of, accepting, welcoming, and doing nothing to prevent the assistance of Russian operatives who contributed a massive misinformation advertising campaign, slandering Hillary Clinton. It made the difference, close analysis indicates. Our Chief Executive was, in short, the beneficiary of a coup, orchestrated on foreign soil. Unlike Jefferson, Trump didn't even have to pay for the smear campaign; Jefferson's cost him fifty dollars. Then, there's the ranting. Jefferson never ranted, and was known to be a good listener, charming, always seeking to please his guests, upon whom he lavished hospitality to the point where he died a hundred thousand dollars in debt. Our current president charms no one, insults everyone, and, regrettably, rants incessantly, usually, mercifully, in increments limited to two hundred and eighty words. That, we might agree, is quite enough. Like Jefferson, Trump often pretends to be what he is not; Christian, for one, and intelligent, for another. Jefferson had no need to feign intelligence. As John F. Kennedy told a room full of Nobel prize winners: " I am honored that we have in this room the greatest assemblage of intellect seen since Thomas Jefferson dined here, alone. Trump's most recent rant, a six pager filled with the usual lies and insults, was obviously ghost written, as it contains several sentences with subordinate clauses and polysyllabic words. There will likely come a time when Trump takes his meals alone, unless he has the good fortune of sharing his cell with someone of modest talent, twisted values, and the patience to withstand a good rant.