Now I can’t pretend to know much, but I think there is something of a commonality in the three: Jefferson, the Bahai Faith and the Quakers.
In some recent reading, “The Founding Brothers”, which by the way is an excellent book describing the early relationships between the founding fathers of America, I thought Jefferson presents something of the spirit of these two religious philosophies. At one point in his thinking Jefferson held that every generation should be governed by new laws, meaning simply that every 15 to 20 years or so the law ought be revisited and rewritten to accommodate the times, especially the times of the younger generations. It was a whacky idea, but probably one not without merit. In fact, it is an idea that likely influenced America’s law by precedent so that the sage judges of any one generation could stamp their values on the times in which they lived. Also in that book, I learned of the role the Quakers played in civil rights, especially in terms of slavery and proposing the first bills to the nascent American parliament to discuss abolitionist ideas. They were widely derided because they wouldn’t take up arms against the British because of pacifist convictions but in doing so they stoked the fires of civil war. Then there are the Bahai who essentially believe every age has its prophets.
Is there not some commonality here? A thread that ought not be ignored? Do others think like this or is the crack pipe simply bubbling with gay abandon?
Anyone with the vaguest notions of American history and either religious philosophy is welcome to set me straight.