06-30-2022, 11:09 AM
(06-30-2022, 10:31 AM)Dill Wrote: No more time for you, until you hold yourself to the standards you demand others meet.
Tell you what, Dill. I thought about it and I'll be the adult and answer your question despite your ignoring mine. I know as an honorable man you will then respond to my query about Muhammed in return.
I would not choose any of those three options as I don't believe any of them even begin to encapsulate my position. There are numerous factors to consider, not the least of which is that slavery was a human institution until very recently, and unfortunately still goes on in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Additionally, attitudes towards women were typical of the time, and in fact strongly persist in many of the aforementioned regions of the world. When examining historical figures and events we must always be careful not to view them through the lens of modern thought and belief. Those people existed, and those events occurred, in their own period of time, a period that shaped those people and events just as the current time shapes ours. I would say it was likely that there were good men, bad men and men with a bit of both in them among the Framers.
I think we can all agree that what they created was remarkable and extremely forward thinking for this time, despite obvious blemishes such as the 3/5's compromise (which actually existed to dilute the political power of the slave owning states) and the obvious lack of regard for women, and basically anyone who wasn't a white man. At the end of the day we should be able to admit what is an obvious truth, that the Framers were human beings just like us, with flaws and strengths. They were shaped by their time as inexorably as we are shaped by ours. I do not think their flaws, none of which were unusual for their time, negate or taints their accomplishments in any way. It's a bit like meeting your favorite actor, comedian or athlete and finding out they're a dick. Does that negate the enjoyment you've gotten from their films, comedy or athletic feats? For some it would, at least initially. But at the end of the day the product of your labor should be judged on its own merits. If Hitler had carved the Pietà would that maker it any less of a beautiful masterwork of art? An extreme example to be sure, but I think it illustrates the point.
