Today's MOZEN: Might Does Not Make Right 1/6/2015

By F LoBuono

The other day I picked up my copy of "The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson". I had read a good deal of it years ago but never finished all of it - it's pretty weighty! Anyway, it was lying on top of a stack of other books and it just caught my eye for no particular reason. I decided to pick it up and randomly selected a page. This is what I found on page 321. It's an excerpt from his Inauguration Speech March 4, 1801:

A rising nation, spread over a wise and fruitful land, traversing all the seas with rich production of their industry , engaged in commerce with nations who feel power and forget right . . . 

Now, of course, at the time Jefferson was writing this, America was a fledgling nation, barely 25 years old. So, he was writing from the perspective that WE were the little guy, struggling to find our place among great nations. Well, 214 years later, the shoe is on the other foot. We are now the big guy with the big clout - the BIGGEST clout. And it's been that way for some time now. Many would say that we are the ones who feel power and forget right. At times, they certainly have a point.

That's why we must remember what Jefferson said and apply that principle to everything that we do as a Country. For example, we recently debated the use of torture against our enemies - those who have and would cause us great harm. Many say if it can save lives, it must be done. Others cry that torture is inconsistent with our moral stance as a Country and cannot be accepted under any circumstance. I am among the later. We must never become one of the nations who feel power and forget right. It defines us as a Nation. It was true when it was founded over 200 years ago and it still rings true today - but only if we strive to make right over might - always.