[Non-Sequitur]

Does James Madison personify it better than John Adams or George Washington. Does the Constitution personify it better than, say, the Declaration of Independence and if not then shouldn't Thomas Jefferson be up there as well? You get into the cult of personality and you miss the message in concentrating on the man.

[agrandis]

But I wasn't comparing Madison to Washington or Jefferson. I think there is a more glaring difference between some figures in history than others. All human lives DO represent things. I think the difference between Lee and Sherman is gargantuan, for instance, without getting into a cult of personalities. I do rank people in history, in my mind, according to standards that I value. It seems I cannot avoid doing that, and I don't even see it as desirable to do that.

Truth is the important thing in life...along with mercy, but now I'm getting too philosophical. Truth about everything. I think the truth about that whole era in our history is not well illuminated or understood. I think Jeff Davis gets a bad rap in the mainline textbooks. I think Lincoln gets a free pass (though that seems to be changing), and his sins are covered up and excused. That does not mean I think Lincoln is the worst figure in history, or that Jeff Davis is right up there with the Apostle Paul.

PS: As to whether the DofI or the Constition better represents American principles, I don't see a need to choose between those, because they are consistent with each other. The important thing about the Constitution is that it is supposed to be the Law of the Land; the law concerning how laws are to be made; the covenant made between the states in order to belong to each other as a nation. This means it's an extremely important document, even if flawed, and should be taken seriously and defneded.